Common name: Sweet Tabaiba
Scientific name: Euphorbia balsamifera
Status: Still common in certain areas. Before the arrival of human beings in Fuerteventura, it was much more abundant and covered extensive areas, but it suffered a strong regression due to the creation of arable land, the obtaining of fuel to burn in lime kilns and the action of cattle. loose.
Habitat and distribution: In Fuerteventura, the sweet tabaiba can grow from almost the sea shore up to 600 meters of altitude. It is present in Jandía, in the mountains between Toto and Pájara, in Montaña Cardón and in other areas of the municipality of Pájara. It usually occupies slopes facing south, with high insolation. In summer it loses its leaves, regrowth quickly after the first rains.
On the contrary, on the north-facing slopes of the mountains the bitter tabaiba dominates, a similar species but more demanding in humidity.
How to recognize it: It forms large globose bushes up to more than two meters high and with a diameter of more than four meters. These adult specimens, which can be more than a century old, have thick and tortuous branches from the very base. The elliptical, greyish-green leaves are found only at the tips of the youngest twigs.
Curiosities:This is the only tabaiba whose white latex is not caustic. For this reason, formerly the sap was collected to obtain a kind of chewing gum, and segments of the branches (with a rounded section) were used to make stoppers for wine barrels. Due to this “sweet” character, it is also the only species of tabaiba that can be eaten by livestock.
