Visco (Tolpis succulenta)

Subshrub from 2 to 8 decimeters, with highly polymorphic leaves (toothed, more or less cut or linear and entire) and mediocre capitula, with yellow flowers. Belongs to the family of Composites, sub-family of Ligulifloras. The milky juice that comes out of the roots of the visco, in its solid state, has the elasticity and appearance of rubber, and can replace this substance to erase pencil-written characters on paper. This is the only application of Madeiran visco, nor can any other be given to it, since the quantity of juice produced by each plant is quite small. Visco is a very common species in Madeira, and it was also found in Pico de Ana Ferreira, in Porto Santo.