Farrobo

This name was once given in the archipelago to Sempervivum glutinosum, a crassulacea now known by the name of saião or ensaião. 'From Ilheu da Fonte da Areia less than half a league ahead,' says Frutuoso, 'to the east of the north part, there is a village of up to fifteen inhabitants; called Farrobo, because there is a herb called that with which the fishermen dye the lines.'

The Sempervivum glutinosum has disappeared from Porto Santo, but it is quite common in the rocks of Madeira, continuing to be used to dye and make the fishing lines tougher and more consistent. The lines are rubbed with the crushed bark of the plant and then dipped in urine, acquiring a black color through this process, which makes them less visible to the fish.

The term alfarroba or farroba is used in the island of Lançarote, in the Canaries, to designate the Sempervivum balsamiferum, a crassulacea that has the same applications as S. glutinosum, from Madeira.

Ferrobar the lines in Madeira means to rub them with the saião, as mentioned, with ferrobar being a corruption of alfarrobar. The herb formerly called farrobo and now saião, gave its name to a place in Porto Santo and to various places in Madeira.