This purple funnel-shaped shrub has two different species in Madeira. One is Echium nervosum that can be find from the sea level to 150 meters and the other is Echium candicans that grows on higher altitudes, between 800 and 1400 meters.

Echium candicans
Photo by Catarina Fagundes

Though these shrubs are both from the Boraginaceae family and both native to Madeira, they have adapted to different habitats and so they become different species. The Echium nervosum flowers from January to March and can reach a height of 1 meter while the Echium candicans flowers from May to September and its height can get to 1,5 meters.