Botanic gardens

A short bus trip outside Las Palmas is the botanic gardens. I decided to devote a Sunday morning to it.

Its full name is a mouthful: Jardín Botánico Canario Viera y Clavijo. It has a large collection of Canarian flora scattered across 10 hectares. The name commemorates José de Viera y Clavijo, an early botanist of the Canaries.

But it really is the life work of Erik Ragnar Svensson, a Swedish botanist who came to live in the Canaries in 1931. He founded the gardens in 1952 and it was opened to the public in 1959.

He died in 1973 and is buried in the grounds of his beloved garden. In one nook I found a sign reading, Aquí yace Erik Ragnar Svensson (Here lies ...). I remember it well because words in Spanish starting with y are few and only fill one page of the dictionary. The common ones are ya, yo, yema (yolk), yerno (son-in-law), and yunque (anvil, which we met in Cuba). To which I could now add yacer (to lie).

Let's start with this interesting Canarian native, the Dragon Tree (Dracaena). You can see some of the red resin that is called dragon's blood.

Succulents are heavily represented in the garden.

A cluster of cacti.

You wouldn't think a prickly cactus would have such beautiful flowers.

Detail.

Somehow this succulent reminded me of the biohazard symbol.

Cassia according to a reader, I thought it was Yellow Broom but comparing the flowers and leaves I was wrong.

Help?

A reader says that this is Limonium.

Hollyhock (Alcea) I think.

Lots of Dragon Trees.

Succulent. I'm not knowledgeable enough to tell you the species.

Hmm, rather prickly.

They look furry. Until you get close.

I like how the flowers sprout from the "hands".

A reader tells me that this is an Aloe.

I remember well the amusing popular name of this one: Mother-in-law's Cushion. "Here mother, have a seat..."

You could bring several families here.

Bright cactus flower.

Another family gathering.

Delicate looking flower for a prickly plant.

"Furry" balls.

Non-succulent for a change. I thought it was Rudbeckia, then maybe Echinacea but those are mostly purple and grow on stalks rather than on branches. A reader thinks it's Senecio, and that's probably right from the description, but the pictures of flowers I've seen don't have the bent back petals. Anyway all of these are daisies (Asteraceae) so let's leave it at that.

Limonium again.