Ever wondered what a bugloss is? A bugloss is a plant that is widespread on the island of Tenerife, in Spain. It usually grows up to approximately 3 meters in height and you can see it on Las Cañadas del Teide. I have always wanted to see them bloom in an inflamed red shade.
We usually visit Tenerife when the sun has departed Europe and in the winter months, you can really only see a ‘skeleton’ as it were, of this rare plant. Since I always saw it without flowers, I gave it its own suited nickname – ‘ghost flower’. It actually has many names – it has been called the tower of jewels, red bugloss, Tenerife bugloss or Mount Teide bugloss.
Whatever you name it, it is never easy to find on the slopes of the Teide volcano. It is also very difficult to take photographs and can be very inconvenient at times. Nevertheless, on this particular day, we drove up the Teide with the sky all clear and I knew I had a good chance of finding this beauty. Along the way to Las Cañadas, the view of La Gomera magically appeared in front of our eyes. We pulled the car off road and rushed to capture this scene and of course as we pulled up – there it was, the ‘ghost flower’ sitting serene in the middle of the perfect composition with the slopes of Teide, the ocean waters and the La Gomera view. It evoked a real longing for the sun and looked so frail growing from the volcanic ground.
