Poleo de monte (Bystropogon canariensis)

Woody, highly branched, evergreen shrub, up to 2.5 m tall, with more or less erect or curved branches. Leaves are petiolate, ovate-lanceolate, with crenate margins, herbaceous and up to 4 cm long. The leaves of the typical variety B. canariensis are light green and densely tomentose, whereas the leaves of the variety B. smithianus are dark green and glabrous. Inflorescences are terminal or subterminal, in glomerules of numerous tiny white or slightly pink flowers. Endemic to the Canaries and typical of the central and western islands. It grows in evergreen, fayal-brezal firetree and heath, and damp or mixed pine forests, from 500 to 1,500 m, and is commonly found over large areas. The genus Bystropogon is endemic to Madeira and the Canary Islands.