Montpellier cistus thickets

If you do the route between the months of Abril and June, these Montpellier cistus thickets (Cistus monspeliensis) will be in full bloom; with abundant bright white flowers which have an orangey-yellow centre. These very aromatic shrubs give off a very powerful soothing fragrance. This is why, in the Canary Islands it is used for smoking cheese. In this particular case they are covering and hiding quite a few olive trees. This, as we said above, is because the olive fields have been abandoned. This has meant that other species have established themselves there are formed new plant communities; in this case, these Montpellier cistus thickets.