Summary: The alkaline volcanic rocks of Tenerife comprise a compositionally continuous series of ankaramites, alkali basalts, trachybasalts, trachyandesites, trachytes, phonolites, and peralkaline phonolites. Ca-rich pyroxenes occur as phenocrysts throughout the series. They show a limited range of composition from diopside and Ti-rich sahlite in the basic and intermediate rocks, to sodic sahlite in some phonolites. Features of both the sahlite-aegirine and sahlite-hedenbergite trends are present. Sodic ferrosahlites occur as xenocrystal ‘green cores’ in phenocrysts from some basic and intermediate rocks. The latter are associated with kaersutite xenocrysts and are similar to pyroxenes in some plutonic xenoliths from Tenerife. During the formation of the ‘green cores’ conditions were more reducing allowing pyroxene compositions to extend through the range sahlite-hedenbergite.

Aegirine-augite and Ti-rich aegirine are present in the groundmass of some phonolites and in pyroclastic boulders of nepheline syenite. The aegirines are associated with magnesioarfvedsonite and aenigmatite, and it is considered that they crystallized under conditions of low oxygen fugacity.