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06-06-2023, 08:00 PM
Radio Sintonia:
The Canarian palm tree, a symbol of our land.
It is well known the enormous interest that the Canarianpalm tree (Phoenix canariensis) has in our islands, both for being one of the most representative elements of biodiversity and the Canarian landscape, and for what it means for the economy of some productive sectors. These and other relevant characteristics, such as its great beauty and cultural value for Canarian society, have been the fundamental reasons, even, to be considered as the plant symbol of our Autonomous Community, according to the sole article, paragraph 1, of Law 7/1991, of April 30, on symbols of nature for the Canary Islands.
A species of our land
In almost the entire archipelago we can enjoy palm groves, located mainly on the banks of the ravine beds, in their middle or final sections. The Canarian palm tree is also part of the thermophilic forests in the company of other species, such as dragon trees, wild olive trees, junipers, mastics, seedlings, taginastes, peralillos and many other species of our varied biodiversity. These thermophilic forests occupy the strip between the cardonal-tabaibal and the Monteverde on the northern slope of the islands, and between the aforementioned cardonal-tabaibal and the pine forests of the southern or leeward slope.
The Canarian species belongs to the Arecaceae family and can reach more than twenty meters, with a robust and cylindrical trunk formed by stacking the petiole of its leaves after its fall, either naturally or by pruning, being, depending on the case, different the appearance of the same. It is a dioecious species, that is, there are specimens with male flowers and specimens with female flowers separately. The flowers are arranged in racemes that, in the case of female individuals, after pollination, evolve into infrutescences where each fruit is called tamara or date.
A species in danger
Another characteristic of this species is that, generally, it does not present "children", that is, the appearance of lateral branches of the trunk.
However, the Canarian palm tree has a great genetic affinity with other foreign palm species, mainly with palm trees of the genus Phoenix. And this is where the problem arises derived from the growing proliferation of specimens of foreign palm trees that constitute a threat to the genetic identity of the Canarian species, since the presence of multiple hybrid specimens has been molecularly verified, as a result of the great facility to hybridize that they present.
Protecting the Canarian palm tree
For all these reasons, it is necessary to adopt measures to avoid the excessive proliferation of palm trees other than the Canary Islands.
From the legal point of view, Law 4/1989, of March 27, on the Conservation of Natural Spaces and Wild Flora and Fauna, provides in its article 26.1 that the Public Administrations will adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the conservation of species of flora and fauna, with special attention to native species. Likewise, article 27, paragraph b), of the aforementioned legal text provides that the action of the Public Administrations will be based mainly on avoiding the introduction and proliferation of species, subspecies or geographical races other than the autochthonous ones, to the extent that they can compete with them, alter their genetic purity or ecological balances.
The Canarian palm tree, a symbol of our land.
It is well known the enormous interest that the Canarianpalm tree (Phoenix canariensis) has in our islands, both for being one of the most representative elements of biodiversity and the Canarian landscape, and for what it means for the economy of some productive sectors. These and other relevant characteristics, such as its great beauty and cultural value for Canarian society, have been the fundamental reasons, even, to be considered as the plant symbol of our Autonomous Community, according to the sole article, paragraph 1, of Law 7/1991, of April 30, on symbols of nature for the Canary Islands.
A species of our land
In almost the entire archipelago we can enjoy palm groves, located mainly on the banks of the ravine beds, in their middle or final sections. The Canarian palm tree is also part of the thermophilic forests in the company of other species, such as dragon trees, wild olive trees, junipers, mastics, seedlings, taginastes, peralillos and many other species of our varied biodiversity. These thermophilic forests occupy the strip between the cardonal-tabaibal and the Monteverde on the northern slope of the islands, and between the aforementioned cardonal-tabaibal and the pine forests of the southern or leeward slope.
The Canarian species belongs to the Arecaceae family and can reach more than twenty meters, with a robust and cylindrical trunk formed by stacking the petiole of its leaves after its fall, either naturally or by pruning, being, depending on the case, different the appearance of the same. It is a dioecious species, that is, there are specimens with male flowers and specimens with female flowers separately. The flowers are arranged in racemes that, in the case of female individuals, after pollination, evolve into infrutescences where each fruit is called tamara or date.
A species in danger
Another characteristic of this species is that, generally, it does not present "children", that is, the appearance of lateral branches of the trunk.
However, the Canarian palm tree has a great genetic affinity with other foreign palm species, mainly with palm trees of the genus Phoenix. And this is where the problem arises derived from the growing proliferation of specimens of foreign palm trees that constitute a threat to the genetic identity of the Canarian species, since the presence of multiple hybrid specimens has been molecularly verified, as a result of the great facility to hybridize that they present.
Protecting the Canarian palm tree
For all these reasons, it is necessary to adopt measures to avoid the excessive proliferation of palm trees other than the Canary Islands.
From the legal point of view, Law 4/1989, of March 27, on the Conservation of Natural Spaces and Wild Flora and Fauna, provides in its article 26.1 that the Public Administrations will adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the conservation of species of flora and fauna, with special attention to native species. Likewise, article 27, paragraph b), of the aforementioned legal text provides that the action of the Public Administrations will be based mainly on avoiding the introduction and proliferation of species, subspecies or geographical races other than the autochthonous ones, to the extent that they can compete with them, alter their genetic purity or ecological balances.