Vinagrera, calcosa (Rumex lunaria)

Shrub, up to 2.5 m, highly branched, with dense foliage. Leaves are broadly ovate, with a rounded tip, fleshy and light green. Inflorescences in terminal panicles of tiny greenish flowers. Fruits are reddish, giving the plant a very striking appearance when in fruit. This widely distributed native of the Canaries is found throughout the islands, although in Lanzarote specimens were apparently introduced for forage in the 20th century, which is most likely true for Fuerteventura. One of the Canary Island plants that most easily disperses and colonizes, found from sea level to above 1,000 m, and characteristic of Euphorbia communities and thermophile areas. It is very common and rapidly colonizes young volcanic terrain and abandoned farmland.