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On
El Hierro, as well as the rest of the Canary Islands, you'll
find a great number of plant species native to the archipelago
or exclusive to this island.
Bosque de Laurisilva (Wild Laurel Forest): A vestige of the forests predominant
in earlier times can be found in the highlands among these
magnificent laurel trees, ferns and mosses.
El Fayal is the zone for oak and beech trees
as well as eucalyptus, which represent a classic example of
flora introduced by man.
The extensive forests
of conifers are said to be the most spectacular and beautiful
in the archipelago where the Canary pine stands erect and
undemanding over a dense carpet of needles, preventing the
growth of other plant species.
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The reverence
in which the Garoé or Holy Tree has been held by the
Bimbache since ancient times is due to the phenomenon known
as "horizontal rain".
This is a process by which the condensation
from its branches is collected in little wells beneath the
tree.
Since there was no potable water source on the island,
this type of collection was an essential means of supply for
the settlers.
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However, in 1610 the Garoé was completely
destroyed by a hurricane wind and its place was not filled
until 1949 when a lime tree (tilo) was planted. |
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In
the extreme northeast, El Sabinar can be found or what is
left of this hundred year old forest of junipers whose twisted
forms have been moulded for centuries by the violence of the
winds and weather.
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