Читать книгу Walking on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Including sections of the GR131 long-distance trail онлайн

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Canary pines flourish on high, dry mountainsides, sometimes in places where nothing else grows. However, these are very rare on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, where most of the trees are Canary palms. These flourish in dry places, and in the past every part of the tree had a use; today they provide delicious miel de palma, or palm syrup. Every so often you might come across a dragon tree, the last surviving descendants of ancient prehistoric forests. They have been decimated in the wild but prove popular in gardens.

Tagasaste trees are found in dense plantations on the western islands, but not on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. They grow with little water, yet have a high nutritional content and are regularly cut for animal fodder. In recent years they have been exported to Australia. Fruit and nut trees have been established, including oranges, lemons, almonds, figs and vines, but Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are not ideal for growing bananas. Introduced prickly pears are abundant, not so much for their fruit, but for raising cochineal beetles, whose blood provides a vivid red dye.