Bejeque tabaquero

Description

Aeonium palmense, known as bejeque tabaquero, is a succulent plant ofthe Crasulaceae family, endemic to the Canary Islands, in particular to the island of La Palma. Like the other species of its genus, A. palmense has a characteristic rosette habit, forming a dense, finely glandular-pubescent subshrub. It puts out thick and short stems, covered with the darkened bases of the old leaves, with few and short branches of horizontal development. A. palmense is strongly balsamic. The leaves are fleshy, soft, rosulate, with suberect, spatulate corners, about 15 cm long, and between 7 and 8 wide. Attenuate and linear below, obovate to obovate-rhomboid above, often apicular. They present dense and fine pubescence on the verse, reverse and edges, with glandular hairs of unequal length, about 0.25 mm maximum. Its middle portion has markedly wavy edges. Flowering occurs between March and April. The stem of the flowers is between 4 and 6 dm high. It is solid, glandular-pubescent and leafy, with tapering leaves, the upper ones broadly obovate, apiculate, tight, about 4 cm long, and wide. The bracts are ovate and sharp; those above, very small, linear. The inflorescence is between 45 and 60 cm long, and between 15 and 30 wide; it is lanceolate in outline, wide, with many patent branches, each dividing towards the middle into 3 or 4 short dichotomous flowering twigs. The pedicels are about 2 mm long. The buds are ovoid to globular. The flowers appear between 8 and 10, from 1.75 to 2 cm wide; its calyx is glandular-pubescent, and measures 7 to 8 mm in length; midway it is cut into segments that are broadly lanceolate. The petals measure about 8 mm, and are broadly lanceolate, caudate, glabrous, lemon yellow. They have stamens of 5 to 6 mm, with slightly covered greenish filaments and pointed and yellow anthers. The scales are 0.75 mm long, 0.75 mm wide, tapering towards the broad base, expanding towards the apex into a broad emarginate head. The ovaries are pendulous, glabrous, greenish, 3 mm long, with styles 4 mm.