Scientific name: ‘Atractylis preauxiana’
Common name: Piña del mar
Family: ‘Compositae’
Genus: ‘Atractylis’
Endemic to: Arinaga - Gran Canaria
Other locations: Tenerife
Description: Plant species considered in danger of extinction in the National Catalogue of Species under Threat and in need of a recovery plan. It is an endemic plant to Tenerife and Gran Canaria, a dwarf plant with grey leaves that can be found in coastal zones, on the eastern coast of Gran Canaria and the southern coast of Tenerife. 15 different populations exist, comprising of between 11 and 5000 individual specimens. In Gran Canaria, the main location can be found in Arinaga which is threatened by the port development, whilst on Tenerife it is practically extinct. Its dispersed distribution, livestock foraging, coastal urbanisation, extraction of minerals and coastal recreation all constitute the species prime enemies. Despite its scarcity in the wild, it can still be observed as it is being cultivated in the botanical gardens on the two islands.
