[3] It is a species endemic to the northeast of the Canary Island of Tenerife, whose description was first made in 1974, thanks to botanist Pedro Luis Pérez de Paz.

[4] It is a medicinal and aromatic plant with pink-purple flowers that grows at low altitude in the crevices of the slopes[5][6] of the protected area of the Anaga Rural Park, located in the massif of the same name.

[11] Depending on its habitat, Micromeria glomerata produces small woody stems, simple or branched, vertical or ascending, between 10 and 40 centimeters above the ground.

These pigments play a photoprotective role: by absorbing UV rays, they reduce photoinhibition[16] and photooxidation, acting as a shield for DNA and cellular components.

[9] The flowers are about one centimeter long and are pink-purple in color;[13] they grow clustered at the end of the annual branches, attached to the apex.

[9] Three to ten pedicellate flowers[Note 3] grow on pedunculate stems, which have linear lanceolate hairy bracts 2 to 6 millimeters long.

[9][15] The cylindrical tubular calyx is slightly flared, with 13 to 15 ribs about 8 millimeters wide, bilabiate and subcutaneous teeth, hairy on the outside, glabrous on the inside and tinged with red.

[15] A phylogenetic study of Micromeria has shown that this genus, although monophyletic, has been divided into two subgenera, one exclusive to peninsular Spain and Morocco, and the other to the Canary Islands, including Tenerife.

[22] On March 18 of the same year, Pedro took samples of the plant[23] and distinguished Micromeria rivas-martinezii by its morphological characters and ecological niche.

[10] On the other hand, the phylogenetic classification of the species has been under discussion since at least August 2015, due to recent findings on the diversification of the genus Micromeria.

[33] In 2010, efforts were focused on storing the plant in a germplasm bank and eliminating traces of grazing in the Anaga region.