There is a plant flowering right now in the Maltese countryside, the Evergreen Traveller’s Joy that is a harbinger of the coming festive days. It grows entwined around any suitable structure with shiny leaves and greenish-white bell-like flowers that look like Christmas decorations hanging on a Christmas tree.

The Evergreen Traveller’s Joy is not a common plant, although it seems that recently it is becoming easier to find.

This species is indigenous to southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It belongs to the same family as the buttercups.

In Maltese it is known as kiesħa or bajda and in Italian as clemantis which is the scientific name given to it and related species.

Clemantis species are found in most continents. Gardeners have been collecting different species and creating new hybrids for hundreds of years. Nowadays a very large variety of species and cultivars can be found in gardens around the world.

Chew a piece of leaf or stem and you will end up with a burning sensation in your mouth

The local species can be found growing along rubble walls, covering boulders or climbing up trees in maquis habitat.

One can find some typical specimen growing along the side of country roads at Baħrija, Wardija and Fawwara. Sometimes, the Evergreen Traveller’s Joy can grow up to four metres high but none of the specimen I saw in the Maltese islands make it to this height.

All parts of the plant are mildly poisonous. Chew a piece of leaf or stem and you will end up with a burning sensation in your mouth. And if you rub it on to your skin, you will get a nasty skin irritation.

It is said that in some parts of France beggars used to rub their skin with this plant to make an ugly- looking sore and so be able to solicit money.

On the other hand, it is claimed that a few drops of a tincture of Evergreen Traveller’s Joy can alleviate pain and migraine but this has not been scientifically proven.

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