Pelotilla (Monanthes polyphylla)

Evergreen, compact, scrambling, cushion plant; rosettes multiple and almost round. Leaflets are fleshy, greyish-green or purple and up to 8 mm long. Flowers, small, scant, star-shaped and greenish. A native rupicolous species of the Canaries, especially La Palma, La Gomera and Tenerife, its presence in Gran Canaria is doubted. There are two subspecies, M. polyphylla, in Tenerife (and perhaps Gran Canaria) and M. amydros, in La Palma and La Gomera. Distributed over potential zones of Euphorbia communities and thermophile woods, and even evergreen forests, from 50 to 800 m altitude. It is particularly abundant in north and northwest Tenerife, where it is common on rocky outcrops with a certain degree of moisture.