Balanites aegyptiaca Delile, 1813

Verloove, Filip, 2021, New records in vascular plants alien to Tenerife (Spain, Canary Islands), Biodiversity Data Journal 9, pp. 62878-62878 : 62878

Balanites aegyptiaca Delile, 1813

Balanites aegyptiaca Descr. Egypte, Hist. Nat. 2: 221. 1813.

Distribution

TENERIFE: Arona (Guargacho), Calle Guayadeque, vacant lot in village, bare open ground, a single self-sown individual (not seen planted in the area), 24.06.2016, F. Verloove 12504 (BR). https://observation.org/observation/204907350/

Notes

Balanites aegyptiaca is a small tree, native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East. It naturally occurs in Morocco, relatively near to the Canary Islands. It is sometimes grown for its edible fruit or, less often, as a medicinal plant.

In 2011, a single young individual of this species was found near to the port area in Los Cristianos in Tenerife ( Sánchez de Lorenzo Cáceres 2012). The species was most likely introduced by African immigrants. In the intervening years, the same individual was also repeatedly seen by us.

In 2016, a further young individual of Balanites aegyptiaca was observed on rough ground in another village in the southern part of Tenerife, Guargacho. The introduction vector in this locality is unknown.