The Ophyrs melitensis or Maltese spider orchid (brimba sewda) is one of 24 species of plants endemic to our islands.
The number of endemic species in the Maltese islands is lower than on other islands in the Mediterranean Sea
Forming part of a small number of insect orchids that flower in spring, the plant has a velvety reddish brown petal with variable metallic blue markings in thecentre of it.
Another endemic orchid is the Maltese pyramidal orchid (orkida piramidali ta’ Malta), but the best known endemic is our islands’ national plant, the Maltese rock centaury (widnet il-baħar).
It was first described by Stefano Zerafa, a Maltese doctor with a keen interest in the botany of this archipelago of islands.
The word endemic is often confused with indigenous. An indigenous species is a plant or animal that is native to a particular place. The opposite of indigenous is non-native, not endemic.
In the Maltese countryside we find many non-native species, including the Cape sorrel (ħaxixa Ingliża), a native of South Africa which was introduced to Malta in the early 19th century.
Endemism, on the other hand, means that a species is found in a defined area. Thus, Maltese endemic plants and animals are found in this country and nowhere else in the world.
There are also regional endemics. In the case of our islands these would be restricted to us and some small neighbouring places such as Lampedusa and Pantelleria or Sicily.
Many endemic species are found on islands as a result of biological isolation, which allows a species to evolve separately and differently from the same species in another area.
The number of endemic species in the Maltese islands is lower than on other islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
This is probably a result of millennia of human pressure which must have led to the extinction of many species.
Endemic species are considered as internationally important.
Because of their restricted range they are often in danger of extinction or given a vulnerable status, and are often accorded protection by means of national and international legislation.
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