Edwin Lanfranco writes:

My old friend, Hubert Spiteri, passed away on February 16, his 73rd birthday. I have known Hubert for most of my life since his family used to live in the same street as mine. However, I only got to know him well when we were still at school and  we discovered our mutual interest in nature in general and plants in particular.

Hubert kept up his keen interest  in plants, particularly those with bulbs or similar buried organs, which he used to cultivate. He discovered a number of species which were new to the Maltese Islands such as the Elegant Narcissus (Narcissus elegans), the Autumnal Sea-daffodil (Pancratium foetidum), for which Malta is the only European locality, and the Butterfly Orchid (Anacamptis papilionacea). He also rediscovered the Sawfly Orchid (Ophrys tenthredinifera).

He had a special interest in ground orchids such as those occurring in the Mediterranean area and he spent decades experimenting in planting composts trying to germinate their seeds (the minute orchid seeds require an encounter with a soil fungus in order to germinate and be able to extract nutrients from the soil). After many attempts he did manage to germinate the seeds of some of the local species.

On March 9 of March of last year, Hubert was presented with the Buonamico Award (Premju Buonamico) which he shared with Michael Briffa, another ardent researcher on the flora of the Maltese Islands, in recognition of his botanical work.

Unfortunately Hubert’s last several years were difficult; he became wheelchair bound and suffered continuous pain, becoming totally dependent on his devoted wife Mary, who herself passed away several months before him. He donated his living plant collection to the Argotti Botanical Garden.

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