Two new plant species have been recorded in Malta by flora researcher Stephen Mifsud, who is also the author of maltawildplants.com, a Maltese online database of the wild plants growing in Malta and Gozo.
One, the amaranthus muricatus, belongs to the amaranth family, the other, the dactyloctenium aegyptium, belongs to the grass family.
Mr Mifsud, who hails from Sta Venera, said that discovering the new species was quite a surprise because Malta's flora has been studied scientifically for more than 180 years.
He observed a large specimen of the amaranthus muricatus in a waste ground habitat with mediocre soil rich in lime.
The plant is known as the African amaranth although it originates from South America. It is quite difficult to identify because it bears inconspicuous tiny flowers and fruit.
Unlike many amaranthus plants, it bears linear to narrow elliptic leaves rather than broad ones. The plant is found in several Mediterranean localities including Italy (as well as Sicily), Spain, France, Greece and North Africa.
Mr Mifsud said that, since it is found in neighbouring countries, one could safely assume that it was introduced in Malta and overlooked by botanists due to its inconspicuousness.
He discovered dense populations of the dactyloctenium aegyuptium in shallow soil in rock basins in a garigue habitat and sometimes also in rock pools with shallow water.
Although the name of the plant gave the convincing impression that it belonged only to Egypt, it is widespread in many countries around the world, including the US (southern states), South America, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, North Africa, and, according to the Flora Europaea of the Royal Botanical Garden of Edinburgh, only in Italy, including Sicily, and Crete in Europe.
Mr Mifsud said the discovery of this plant on the Maltese archipelago was of major importance because it was found in only a few localities in Europe. It is a very old species originating from tropic and sub-tropic regions and is described to have various types of habitats, including sandy soils, coastal sand dunes, arable land and waste places near the sea.
The dactyloctenium aegyptium consists of two to three and, occasionally, up to five spreading, oblong spikes radiating out of a common point. Each spike consists of two rows or spikelets arranged next to each other giving an overall structure with an elaborate and beautiful appearance.
Mr Mifsud said that finding such rare plants required deep knowledge of the local flora and countless hours of field research.
This year, he has already discovered some very rare plants including a new population of the yellow-form iris pseudopumila and the very rare primitive fern asplenium trichomanes.
Mr Mifsud's research is posted on maltawildplants.com, which has, since last year, been sponsored by the Strickland Foundation and Middlesea Insurance plc. This year, it is being co-sponsored by HSBC.
Mr Mifsud said he could not understand why government institutions involved in research, rural development, education and the environment always rejected sponsorship requests. Likewise, he could also not understand why the EU refused to finance such research on grounds that it was carried out by an individual rather than by an institution or organisation.