(top to bottom) The squat and spiky cardón de Jandía is endemic to the Jandía peninsula on Fuerteventura; uvilla, looking like a little bunch of grapes, is found along arid coastlines; rubbery-stalked verode is a common sight in scrub on all the islands

      While the northern hemisphere was in the grip of an Ice Age, the Canary Islands were sluiced by rainstorms, with powerful rivers carving deep, steep-sided barrancos into unstable layers of ash and lava. As the landmasses emerged from the Ice Age, the Canary Islands dried out and the vegetation had to adapt to survive. Some species are well adapted to semi-desert conditions, while on the highest parts of the islands, laurisilva ‘cloud forests’ are able to trap moisture from the mists and keep themselves well watered. Laurisilva forests once spread all the way round the Mediterranean and tropical regions. Small remnants of this forest survive on the higher northern slopes of most of the Canary Islands, but not on Lanzarote or Fuerteventura.

      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.

      Bushy scrub is rich and varied, including a host of species that walkers will become familiar with. These include bushy, rubbery tabaibal and tall cardón, or candelabra spurge. Both have milky latex sap, as does aulaga, which looks like a tangled mass of spines and is often found colonising old cultivation terraces in arid areas. Along the coast succulent plants thrive, such as uvilla, which looks like bunches of tiny grapes. The fragrant Canarian lavender usually grows in arid, rocky, stony areas among other scrub species. Of particular importance on Fuerteventura is the cardón de Jandía, which grows only on the Jandía peninsula. Few of the plants have common English names, but all of them feature so often that they should be learned.

      Flowers grow all year round, but visitors in spring and early summer will be amazed at the colour and wealth of flowering plants. Many are Canarian endemics, and even trying to compile a shortlist would be pointless. Anyone with a particular interest in flowers and other plants should carry a specific field guide, in English. Try Native Flora of the Canary Islands by Miguel Ángel Cabrera Pérez (Editorial Everest) or Wild Flowers of the Canary Islands by David Bramwell and Zoë Bramwell (Editorial Rueda).

      Animals