Included here are the Canaries, a group of twelve volcanic islands situated in the eastern Atlantic. Among the largest from west to east are La Palma, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote.

Canarian Erica arborea Heath

At its upper limit the xerophytic zones gives way to a forest scrub zone of Erica arborea (tree heath) and Juniper phoenicea. Other common components are Myrica faya and the endemic Ilex canariensis (Aquifoliaceae). In some of the more exposed areas shrubs of Erica may be no more than 1 m high, but more typically it forms a dense forest scrub up to 12 m high. Other endemic species in this zone include tall shrubs of Teline stenopetala (Fabaceae).

References

Ashmole, M. & Ashmole, P. 1989. Natural History Excursions in Tenerife. Kidston Mill Press. Scotland.

Bramwell, D. 1971. The endemic flora of the Canary Islands: distribution, relationships and phytogeography. In: Biogeography and Ecology in the Canary Islands. Ed. C. Kunkel. Dr W. Junk Publishers. The Hague.

Bramwell, D. 1972. Endemism in the flora of the Canary Islands. In: Taxonomy, Phytogeography and Evolution. Ed. D. H. Valentine. Academic Press.

Brullo, C., Brullo, S., Marco, G. De., Galdo, G. G. D. & Guarino, R. 2008. A survey of thee orophilous shrubby vegetation of the Teide (Tenerife, Canary Islands). Feddes Repertorium, 119: 63-81.

Fernandez, A. et al. 2002. Garajonay La Gomera. Garajoney National Park.

Humphries, C. J. 1979. Endemism and Evolution in Macaronesia. In: Plants and Islands. Ed. D, Bramwell. Academic Press.

Kunkel, Por. G. 1971. Lista Revisada de los Pteridofitos de las Islas Canarias. Cvad. Bot. Canar. XIII: 21-46.

Page, C. N. 1977. An ecological survey of the ferns of the Canary Islands. Fern Gazette, 11: 297-312.

Pérez, M. A. C. 2005. Native Flora of the Canary Islands. Everest.

Sunding, P. 1972. The vegetation of Gran Canaria. Skrifter Utgitt av Det Norske Videnska-Akademi I Oslo I. Mat.-Naturv. Klasse. Ny Serie. No. 29.

Sunding, P. 1979. Origins of the Macaronesian Flora. In: Plants and Islands. Ed. D. Bramwell. Academic Press.