Hexagonal bush?

Question

I have seen the pictured bush today when hiking around Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. From a distance, hexagonal patterns are visible: Adjacent branches grow in an almost perfect 45° angle relative to each other.

What plant is this, or what is a strategy for finding that out?

If you need more information, let me know.

Update: Below a picture, that I took after @Throsby's answer, for confirmation. It shows the closeup of a bud, plus mating behavior. ;-) This bush is in a different location than the one pictured above.

Answer 1

I think that it is a great example of a Launaea Arborescens. The Spanish name is Aulaga, but the English name is a bit contested, either "spiny lettuce" or "barbed wire bush".

According to this site:

It is a shrub with small branches turned into thorns and up to 70 centimeters high with a few small hairless leaves, lightly lobed. The yellow flowers are grouped in small flower-heads one centimeter in diameter.

Surprisingly, it is a member of the lettuce family.

Here is a picture from the first link of the plant in bloom with yellow flowers, you can see the yellow in the buds in your photo. Very cool find.

Answer 2

I'd hazard an educated guess at Corokia, or Wire Netting Bush, although I can't currently see any of the tiny leaves present. Even so, the haphazard nature of its growth habit and overall coloration point in that direction.