Viborina canaria (Echium bonnetii)

Small annual, with a rosette of basal leaves. Leaves are lanceolate to ovate, the basal leaves being wider than the cauline leaves, dark green and herbaceous, and rather hairy to the touch, as they are covered in stiff bristles. Flower stems up to 25 cm tall, with blue flowers. Exclusive to the Canary Islands, found in Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, and very locally in Lanzarote. Typical of flatlands and xerophytic hillsides, this plant can grow up to 400 m in some areas. Owing to a short life-span it is only plentiful in years of high rainfall, between winter and early spring, rarely appearing in drier areas.