While a walk in the countryside in the north of the island might still be characterised by the strong smell of the wild narcissus covering whole areas with its dazzling yellow colour when in season, this tiny beautiful flower is no longer abundant in the south.

The narcissus is one of 407 shrubs in Malta which, according to the State of the Environment Report for 2002, are under threat. 22 plants of the 407 are endemic.

According to Joseph Buhagiar, curator of the Botanical Gardens at Argotti, this was nearly half of the about 1,000 flowering shrubs recorded to be growing in the wild on the Maltese islands.

In spite of being endangered as a result of overpicking, the narcissus is unfortunately still sold at market stalls and on the road.

And if its population is not given time to regenerate, it will eventually be wiped out - extirpated.

Extirpation is the worst level of threat, short of extinction. It is the situation when a plant is completely lost from the Maltese islands but can still be found nearby, such as in Sicily or Pantalleria.

A total of 109 plants are listed as extirpated from Malta. At least five to 10 of them are extinct - they are not even found on islands nearby.

The other levels of threat of other species, in reducing levels of gravity are: endangered - 80 species; vulnerable - 44; rare - 136 and indeterminate - 38.

An indeterminate stage is when there is not enough information available on the plant for a conclusion to be reached.

Mr Buhagiar said several factors may threaten a plant's abundance, such as development, Sunday outings by people who trample around unconcernedly, and even agriculture.

Herbicides, for example, are being used by farmers to destroy wild plants, commonly known as weeds. But what was wild was not necessarily bad, he explained. Wild plants could be a food source for a number of organisms.

Insecticides also indirectly had a negative effect on plants. The glow worm (musbieh il-lejl), for example, was being destroyed through the use of insecticides. But the glow worm helped control the spread of certain snails, which destroyed any living plant they found if their population grew too large.

Fertilisation from fields was also destroying the water plants which grew in the few areas in Malta where fresh water accumulated.

The most important factor, Mr Buhagiar stressed, was education, which should be maintained beyond primary and mid-secondary levels to ensure that the principles remained ingrained.

"For example, people should know that they should not take home samples of plants growing in the wild."

People should also lead by example, he said. It was a pity, for example, to see workers of the Public Private Partnership, who were planting flowers and plants in roundabouts and central strips all around the island, to be spraying oleander with pesticide.

"This is shocking and worrying as these people should know better," he said.

Mr Buhagiar said some species may have been destroyed by the introduction of alien ones.

One such alien species was the cape sorrel from South Africa, widely known in Malta as the haxixa ngliza.

This plant, which produced bead-sized bulbs whenever it was pulled out of the soil, was first introduced in Malta for experimental purposes at the Argotti Gardens in 1805.

As soil in Malta was continuously carried from one place to another, these bulbs soon spread all over and, as the country had then been an important source of orange trees, it also invaded countries along the shores of the Mediterranean.

Mr Buhagiar said that when a plant which was more aggressive than a local species was introduced, it was probable that the local species would be destroyed.

The castor oil plant was another species introduced in Malta at the beginning of the British period. This was brought to Malta because it looked attractive but as a trade-off the country lost the endemic plants which were overwhelmed by the castor oil plant, a natural pest.

Another source of problems for Maltese flora was eucalyptus, which required eight times more water than the carob tree, harruba, and whose leaves contained chemicals which did not allow other local plants to grow.

This also applied to acacias which produced thousands of seeds, which remained dormant while the mother plant was alive but which germinated as soon as it died.

"The introduction of such plants to Malta was wrong, and now that we have more knowledge, they should not be repeated. And yet, eucalyptus is still being planted in Malta to this very day.

"Eucalyptus is changing the Maltese landscape. The border of fields has already changed from one with fruit trees to one with eucalyptus.

"And although there is legislation to stop such trees from being planted, there is unfortunately no enforcement," Mr Buhagiar said.

He stressed that such plants should be actively phased out.

It was announced last week that an HSBC University Foundation was launched to assist students studying finance, management and accounting and to ensure plant conservation and continued propagation of endangered Maltese plant species at the Argotti Botanical Gardens, in Floriana.

HSBC will be providing Lm20,000 each year for the next five years, Lm3,500 of which will go towards plant conservation and mass propagation of rare or endangered Maltese endemic and indigenous species.

About a year ago Mr Buhagiar had approached HSBC asking them to assist in developing interpreting facilities for the garden. The bank had asked for a proposal, which he provided and in which he asked for something extra: funds for the mass propagation of endangered plants.

The proposal was approved and for the next five years at least the bank will be sponsoring this conservation project.

Mr Buhagiar said he did not aim to use the HSBC money to try to save all plants, which would be an impossible task.

So three plants have been selected and efforts would be based on them. If the flow of money was maintained, more plants would be taken on board.

The plants chosen for the experiment are the national plant Widnet il-Bahar - the Maltese rock centaury, which is among the rare plants; the national tree tal-Gharghar - the gum sandarac, which is an endangered species; and the shrubby horsetail, which is extirpated.

The Maltese rock centaury is an endemic plant which grows close to the coast and near cliffs.

A moth or butterfly seemed to be attacking the plant's seed, eating it at the ripening stage, which could explain why it was not regenerating.

The plant was very easy to grow by cultivation but this resulted in identical replicas or clones, not allowing room for genetic variation.

Genetic diversity would ensure that if a plant were threatened by a new organism, some of the plants would die, but others would resist and continue to regenerate.

The gum sandarac contains chemicals with medical properties and Mr Buhagiar is studying its anti-cancer potential.

"We want the gum sandaracs found in the wild to be conserved and procreate more rapidly than those in cultivation so that the genetic basis of the species will not be destroyed," he said.

Although the shrubby horsetail is extirpated, an old specimen is found at Argotti and a way has been found to regenerate it in quantity.

All three plants adapt very well to dry conditions and after three to four years of care they could be left to survive without the need for regular attention.

Mr Buhagiar said he would like to have a neglected tract of land which he could use to sustain endangered plants for the benefit of the country.

He would rehabilitate the land by growing on it these rare plants. He also encouraged other organisations to take initiatives similar to that taken by HSBC.

"With less red tape, we can do it," he promised.