Balo (Plocama pendula)

Shrub up to 3-4 m tall, rather dense, dark green, with pendulous branches. Leaves are thread-like, up to 5 cm long and herbaceous. Flowers very small, terminal or subterminal and whitish. Fruits are small, round and somewhat fleshy, translucent, becoming black. Endemic to the Canaries and particularly characteristic of Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Gomera, where it is abundant. Despite sightings on La Palma and El Hierro, it is considered very rare; in Fuerteventura fewer than 10 specimens are known to exist at just one location. This plant usually grows in rather dense formations in ravines, although it also thrives on hillsides, rocky outcrops and malpaíses or badlands. Until very recently, the genus Plocama was considered exclusive to the Canaries, with just one species, but that situation has now changed.