A botanist has discovered that an orchid spotted in Malta years ago is actually new to science and confined to the island, complementing the country’s colourful range of this plant species.
Botanist Stephen Mifsud, who has been studying orchids for years, is looking into the new orchid, which was first observed in Malta by renowned Belgian orchidologist Pierre Delforge years ago.
Delforge linked it to a known species, but following a study and botanical analysis by Mr Mifsud, it turns out to be a hybrid of two orchid species.
It joins some 40 other species of wild orchids in Malta, half of which are very rare.
Only a few specimens remain of a couple of the rare ones and a few are even thought to be extinct.
With the exception of a few common species, orchids in Malta are legally protected – crucial for their preservation, Mr Mifsud said.
The loss of habitat through development, quarrying, dumping and excessive grazing are the main factors that contribute to loss of orchids, he added.
“Unfortunately, orchid hunting by collectors is also one of the current threats for rare Maltese orchids.”
While on a national level it was important to safeguard the habitat, he urged people to refrain from cutting orchids, “even if their beauty allures everyone”.
Beauty can instead be captured by photography, he said, adding that on a positive note, the plant health department is carrying out studies in a bid to reintroduce orchids in the wild.
Botanist and ecologist Edwin Lanfranco believes the only way to protect Malta’s vulnerable orchids is to protect their habitat: orchids rarely grow in disturbed habitats and are only spotted on natural low shrub lands (called garigue), in the clearings of the high shrub lands (maquis) and in natural meadows.
Mr Lanfranco noted that the Orchis italica, also known as the ‘naked-man’ orchid, is now very rare in Malta, found in small numbers in very few localities.
The lower petal, known as the lip, takes the shape of a man, while the inner part of the flower looks like the laughing face of a man complete with two eyes and a big grin.
Another curious orchid is the endemic Maltese spider.
The lip of the Ophrys melitensis, which is confined to the Maltese islands, resembles the abdomen of a bee – the sepals look like the wings, while the inner parts of the flower resemble the head and eyes.
These flowers attract the male bees, who converge on the flowers to mate and in the process pollinate the flowers.
A single orchid flower can generate over a million seeds but only a very low percentage of these germinate.
Orchid seeds are dispersed by the wind and only a few land on a suitable substrate.
Did you know?
• The orchid family has the smallest seeds, weighing five micrograms.
• Their vanilla flavour comes from some species of the orchid genus Vanilla, distributed in central and south America.
• Orchids are the largest family of plants that grow harmlessly on trees.