Last month I re-visited the island to see how it had faired after last winter. I was somewhat surprised at how little damage there was despite it being the worst winter for many years.
Here are some of the plants that I saw.
Acacia karroo, drier parts of southern Africa, very thorny but with bright green foliage.
Aloe striatula, S Africa, this really is a hardy Aloe. This is the typical yellow form in cultivation.
Buddleja saligna, False Olive, S Africa, rather like the unrelated olive or even private.
Echium pininana, Canaries, La Palma, common in gardens on this bit of coast and not even affected in exposed gardens.
Persea americana, Avocado, central Americas, no damage and actually fruit developing well.
Solanum mauritianum (syn. S. auriculatum), S America. A pernicious weed all over the world in warm temperate climates. Very poisonous and has irritable hairs too.
A plant of Isoplexis sceptrum, Madeira that I gave Henri a couple of years ago was also doing well. Around 2 m high and had flowered well earlier.
Ficus pumila, which is common as a wall plant in the Med, was in fruit. The first time I had seen this. Large figs as big as those of the typical eating fig, Ficus carica. Unfortunately I didn’t photograph this as I suddenly had to rush to catch the last ferry off the island.
One new development was that the rabbits, which are a huge problem, had started eating the Aeoniums which they hadn't touched before!
I did suggest that Henri look into birth control bait for the rabbits as it would be a humane way of removing them permanently from the island. I assume this is possible as I have heard of it working for the grey squirrel. It should be very effective on an island where re-population shouldn't be possible unless introduced by people.