Ġnien il-Kbir, Buskett and Wied il-Girgenti

This area is a large valley system supporting several habitat types, with important populations of trees.

The Ġnien il-Kbir/Ġnien iż-Żgħir valley system is characterised by a very rare riparian woodland habitat, based on the white willow (safsafa kbira), the Mediterranean willow (safsafa zgħira), the white poplar (luq) and the hoary elm (ulmu).

Girgenti hosts a number of interesting maquis communities, which also include a few large specimen of the very rare myrtle (riħan). Other maquis trees in the area include lentisk (deru), carob (ħarrub) and bay laurels (rand).

The area known as Il-Bosk represents one of the four extant oak forest remnants in the Maltese islands, typified by very old specimens of the holm oak (ballut), as well as woodland under-storey species, of which bay laurel and the Mediterranean buckthorn (alaternu) represent some of the rare tree species present in the area.

Wied il-Luq includes a riparian woodland with white poplar (luq), narrow-leaved ash (fraxxnu), hoary elm and the English oak (ballut). This area is the only known location in the wild for native female white poplar trees in the Maltese islands.

Il-Buskett area which includes the area around Verdala Castle is essentially a semi-natural woodland based on Aleppo pine (żnuber) and Italian cypresses (ċipress). The area is also important as a concentration point for migratory birds of prey, many of which are of international importance.

Mepa declared this site as a Tree Protected Area on May 24, in accordance with the provisions of the Trees and Woodlands Protection Regulations (2011) as per Government Notice number 473/11.