Scientific name: ‘Diplazium caudatum’
Common name: Helecho
Family: ‘Athyriaceae’
Genus: ‘Diplazium’
Endemic to: Laurel forests of Gran Canaria
Other location: Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro
Description: A plant species that is very sensitive to changes in its habitat according to the National Catalogue of Species under Threat. It was the first fern to be protected by Spanish legislation. It has leaves of up to 1 metre in height, 2-3 pinnate, serrated with a large terminal tail. It lives below waterfalls, in shady areas, often in grottos forming communities with Trichomanes speciosum ferns. As with this other species, it is common in tropical regions. It grow in the Canaries in the laurel forests, and in Europe, it only appears in the sierras of the Los Alcornocales National Park (Cadiz). There are laurel forests on all the Islands, except on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. As such, in theory this fern can be found in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro.
