''Digitalis canariensis'' (common name: Canary Island foxglove) is a member of the genus ''

Digitalis ''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and Biennial plant, biennials, commonly called foxgloves. ''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are ...

''.

Taxonomy

This species is part of

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

'' Isoplexis'', which was temporarily accepted as an own genus. The

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Isoplexis canariensis'' also continues to be used. In general, as of 2017, opinions concerning the taxonomic status of ''Isoplexis'' species differ depending on the source.

Description

Individuals of these species are small,

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

plants growing into rounded

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s up to 150 cm tall. The plant has lanceolate-ovoid leaves with toothed margins. The leaves are spirally arranged. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a cluster of orange-reddish flowers up to 3 cm in length, with short petals and noticeable upper and lower lip. Bird pollination by the island populations of '' Phylloscopus'' species has been documented. The fruit is a capsule. ''Digitalis canariensis'' contains cardenolides (cardiac glycosides),P. Studer, S. K. Pavanaram, C. R. Gavilanes, Horst Linde, Kuno Meyer: Die Glykoside der Blätter von ''Digitalis canariensis''. ''Helvetica'' 46/1, 1963, 23-45. which are

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

. Medical use is documented, primarily historical in nature.

Distribution

''Digitalis canariensis'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

where it occurs on the islands of

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

La Gomera La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. With an area of , it is the third-smallest of the archipelago's eight main islands. It belongs to the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. La Gomer ...

and

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and historically San Miguel de La Palma, is the most northwesterly island of the Canary Islands, a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. La Pa ...

. It grows in

laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and el ...

and '' Erica arborea'' woods.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5807042 canariensis Endemic flora of the Canary Islands Flora of La Palma Flora of Tenerife Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus