Echium wildpretii facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Echium wildpretii |
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| Echium wildpretii on Tenerife | |
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Echium
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wildpretii
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Echium wildpretii is a really cool flowering plant that belongs to the Boraginaceae family. It's an herbaceous biennial plant, which means it grows for two years. In its first year, it grows leaves, and in its second year, it blooms with amazing flowers before it dies. This plant can grow super tall, up to 3 meters (about 10 feet)!
You can only find this special plant naturally in the Canary Islands, especially around Mount Teide in Tenerife. There's also a type of it called E. wildpretii subsp. trichosiphon that grows high up on the island of La Palma. People often call it the tower of jewels, red bugloss, Tenerife bugloss, or Mount Teide bugloss because of its unique look.
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Why it's Called Wildpretii
The scientific name wildpretii was chosen to honor a Swiss botanist from the 1800s named Hermann Josef Wildpret. It's a way to remember his contributions to studying plants.
What the Tower of Jewels Looks Like
This plant is a biennial plant. In its first year, it forms a thick group of leaves close to the ground, called a rosette. Then, in its second year, a tall, straight flower stalk grows up to 1 to 3 meters (3 to 10 feet) high.
This tall stalk is covered in many bright red flowers. The plant usually blooms from late spring to early summer when it's growing in Tenerife.
Where the Tower of Jewels Grows
The tower of jewels loves to grow in the subalpine areas of the ravines around Mount Teide. This is a volcano located on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. The plant needs lots of sunshine and prefers dry, arid conditions.
It can even handle cold temperatures, down to about -5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit). Because it's a special plant that only grows in certain high-altitude places and needs specific weather, changes in the climate could affect it.
How People Use the Tower of Jewels
You might see the tower of jewels growing in gardens because it's a very beautiful plant. However, it doesn't like very cold weather, so if you live somewhere with frost, it might need some protection in winter.
This plant has even won an award called the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit for being an excellent garden plant. Also, just like most bugloss plants, it's a favorite for bee-keepers. Its flowers are full of sweet nectar that bees love!
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Close-up of the amazing flowers
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A different type (ssp. trichosiphon) from La Palma
See also
In Spanish: Tajinaste rojo para niños
