The tadpole shrimp

Tadpole shrimp - Triops cancriformis 

Tadpole shrimps are small crustaceans that were already alive 300 million years ago. They are living fossils that have outlived the trilobites, dinosaurs and mammoths and millions of other species.

They live in ponds and pools, an unstable habitat because they often dry up during parts of the year.

The tadpole shrimp found in the Maltese islands, which goes by the scientific name of Triops cancriformis, has existed unchanged for the past 200 million years or so. It is the oldest living species known.

Triops cancriformis is found in Europe, the Middle East and Japan. In many parts of Europe it has lost its habitat and has decreased considerably. In some areas it is endangered and strictly protected. Only two populations are known in the UK.

The tadpole shrimps I have seen in the Maltese islands have been about six centimetres in length although it is not unknown for members of this species to grow up to eleven centimetres long.

In Malta it has become very rare mainly because of destruction of its habitat. Many of the sites in which it used to be found have disappeared and it has also disappeared from most of its old but still existing sites.

Like the frog which shares the pools in which it lives, the tadpole shrimp has a very fast life cycle. It becomes a mature adult within two or three weeks of hatching. This allows it to complete its life cycle before the rain pools in which they live dry up.

The eggs are very resistant to drought and extreme temperatures and can survive for many years in the dried mud or dust at the bottom of a pool waiting for the right hatching conditions. They can even survive digestive juices and can pass through the digestive system of a bird unharmed. It is probably the ability of the eggs to survive under very difficult conditions that has enables the various species of triops to survive for so many millions of years.

Tadpole shrimps feed on small invertebrates, microscopic particles and plants. They absorb oxygen through their legs and can be seen moving their legs rhythmically all the time to move the water around them. They usually swim with their shield upwards but when oxygen is scarce they swim upside down with their feet close to the surface of the water where there is usually more oxygen.

The name Triops is derived from two Greek words meaning three and eyes. It got its name because these species have a pair of compound eyes and a third eye known as the ‘naupliar eye’ in between. 

This article was published in The Times of Malta on 3 April 2014.

The Sicilian Squill

Sicilian squill - Scilla sicula 

The Sicilian squill is a perennial plant endemic to Malta, Sicily and Calabria in southern Italy. 

The plant grows from an underground bulb that can survive in shallow soils in valleys garigue and maquis. In Sicily and mainland Italy it is a very rare species. In Malta it used to be considered as rare but nowadays it seems to have increased and is considered as a scarce plant. In fact it does seem to be increasing. 

A few days ago I found it growing in good numbers in a valley along the south Maltese coast. In one area I found a patch of soil in which there were more than thirty plants in flower and many others plants still to flower.

The flowers are light bluish grey. Sometimes they are so light that they are nearly white. The inflorescence consists of small flowers growing around a short stem creating a pyramidal shape.   

In Maltese the Sicilian squill is known as għansar ikħal.

The scientific name of this species is Scilla sicula. The Scillas are found mostly in the hot arid regions of the Mediterranean.

Scilla is derived from the Greek word for ‘to hurt’ or ‘harm’. The name was given to this genus because of the poisonous nature of the bulbs. It is also similar to Scylla a mythical twelve-headed sea monster which in ancient times was believed to live opposite Charybdis a vortex from hell. The Greeks believed that Scylla and Charybdis lived in the Straits of Messina. When navigating through the dangerous straits Greek sailors had to decide whether to sail close to Scylla or Charybdis.

This article was published in The Times of Malta on 27 March 2014.

South African Daisy

The South African daisy is a popular cultivated plant. In recent years it has been planted widely in gardens, in soft areas along roads and in other public places so I was not too surprised when I saw it growing profusely along the side of several country roads near Rabat.

This species of daisy can grow up to half a metre high. Many varieties are available in garden centres throughout the world and new ones are being created every year.

The South African daisy is one of several species of related daisies originating in southern Africa. It is usually found in high altitudes being most adapted to live between 1000 and 3000 metres above sea level.

Plants can be annuals or perennials. In areas where the ground freezes they survive the colder parts of the year as seeds but in milder climates they can live for several years.

The flowers have a typical daisy shape. In wild plants they are pink with a yellow disc with a blue centre.  Cultivated varieties have large flowers which range in colour from white to violet.  Some varieties have spoon-shaped petals.

In Malta the South African daisy readily propagates from seed and it can easily spread into the Maltese countryside. Introduced species can spread very fast because and outnumber indigenous species.

In fact the most common plant in the Maltese countryside, the Cape sorrel, known in Maltese as ħaxixa ngliża is also a native of South Africa. It was introduced in Malta about two hundred years ago as a garden plant but soon escaped into the countryside and spread throughout the Maltese islands. It is now found in most Mediterranean countries.  

This article was published in Th Times of Malta on 20 March 2014

The Persian Cyclamen

The Persian cyclamen, is a non-indigenous flowering plant that was introduced in the Maltese islands as a garden plant. It has become naturalised in some old gardens and cemeteries.

 It is native to parts of Turkey south to Israel and Jordan. It can also be found in Algeria and Tunisia as well as on some Greek islands where it was probably also introduced. The species is very popular with gardeners and many varieties have been developed.

 Wild plants flower in winter and early spring but varieties have been created which flower in autumn. The flowers are pink with a dark pink or magenta ring at the base of the upturned petal. The colours of the flowers of cultivated varieties range from white to dark pink.

 There are 23 species of cyclamen. Many are indigenous to the Mediterranean. Some species can be found in parts of Europe outside the Mediterranean area while a small number extend east as fareast as Iran and one species can be found as far south as Somalia.

 The flowers of the different species are very similar in shape and to tell them apart one needs to look at the shape of the leaves.

 Cyclamens are herbaceous perennials. Cyclamens have tubers which help them survive the hot dry Mediterranean summers. The tuber puts out leaves in autumn. By the end of spring the plants would have produced seeds and the leaves have completely dried up.

 The seeds have a sugary coating which makes them attractive to ants and other small insects which carry them away to their nests. They eat the sweet covering and discard the seeds. The ants help the plant by taking the seeds to other spots away from the plant and help it to disperse and colonise new areas.

 The name cyclamen probably comes from an ancient Greek word from which we have the old Latin word cyclaminos which refers to the round shape of the tuber.

 In Maltese it is called ċiklamina.

 In many languages cyclamens have colloquial names which refer to the fact that the plant is eaten by pigs. In English it is sowbread, in Italian pan porcino and in Fench  pain de pourceau. 

This article was published in The Times of Malta on 12 March 2014.

Beutiful but poisonous anemone

Crown anemone -Anemone coronaria - Kaħwiela

The crown anemone looks like a small violet poppy. It is indigenous to the Mediterranean region including the Maltese islands but it is not as frequent as it is claimed to be.

It flowers from January to March. It is found mostly in garigue and maquis habitat especially in sheltered valley such as Wied il-Għasel in Mosta and Wied Qirda near Żebbuġ.

The flower is borne on top of a tall stem. It loves the sun and is happiest on bright sunny days and as soon as the sun disappears, it closes up. I realised how fast the petals can close when I was taking a picture and blocked the sun with my camera. By the time I had finished setting up the camera the petals had already started to close.

In Maltese the crown anemone is known as kaħwiela from ikħal the little used Maltese word for blue.

The crown anemone is a perennial species that survives the summer as an underground corm. It grows between 20 and 40 cm high but all the specimens I have seen in Malta were on the smaller side not growing much higher than 20cms.

The crown anemone has been in cultivation for a very long time and many cultivars and varieties have been developed. Last year this species was popularly chosen as the national flower of Israel.

The plant is slightly poisonous if large quantities are eaten. Poisoning can take place by ingestion or by absorption through the skin. Its fresh sap can cause inflammation and blistering if touched and if swallowed it induces vomiting and diarrhoea.

The anemone belongs to the buttercup family. About 120 species of anemones have been identified most of which are found in the cooler parts of the world.

Ovid, the Roman poet who lived 43 BC to AD 17 or 18, wrote in his poem Metamorphoses that the anemone was created when the goddess Venus sprinkled nectar on the blood of her dead lover Adonis. 

This article was published in The Times of Malta on 5 March 2014. 

The hoary rockrose

Hoary rock-rose; Cistus creticus; ċistu roża

The hoary rock-rose is a very scarce plant that belongs to the cistus family. It grows as a bush which in spring is covered in large pink flowers. It is a Mediterranean species that can be found up to an altitude of 1000 m and is indigenous in the Maltese islands. It is found in garigue habitat in a few localities in the western part of Malta as well as in Gozo.

In Maltese, the hoary rock-rose or as it is sometimes called the pink rock-rose, is known as ċistu roża.

This plant is used both as a food as well as a medicine. The leaves are sometimes made into a tea while an oleo-resin found in the leaves and stems is used to flavour ice cream, chewing gum and cakes.

In traditional medicine it was used externally to control bleeding and as an antibiotic and internally to treat catarrh, and diarrhoea.  As early as in the 4^th century BC the ancient Greeks used rock-rose extracts to treat all kinds of skin disorders and the common cold.

Recent scientific studies have shown that this has anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-microbial and has been found to be an effective treatment of flu, coughs and colds.

The cistus family is a small family consisting of about 200 different species known for their beautiful flowers. About twenty species are found in the Mediterranean region. Cistuses are found mostly in temperate as well as in North and South America. They are particularly well adapted to survive in poor soils and can become the dominant species in some areas. 

 This article was published in TheTimes of Malta on  February 2014.

The shrubby ramalina

Ramalina - Ramalina durieui - Ramalina

The ramalina are a genus of lichens with a typical shrubby structure. They are very different from the lichens we are used to seeing on walls, rocks and stones. At least one species of ramalina can be found in the Maltese islands. Instead of having the familiar circular shape, this species, which one finds growing on trees at Buskett and the nearby valley of Girgenti, has the shape of shredded grey leaves stuck onto a branch or twig.

The genus ramalina consists of about 240 species. They are found widely around the world in various habitats.

In the Maltese islands about two hundred species have been recorded. Most are coloured patches decorating stone or wood surfaces. Lichens are very slow growing and it takes a very long time for a freshly exposed surface to become covered in lichen.

Lichens are usually the first organisms to colonise bare surfaces. They can survive in inhospitable environments because they can make the most out of two worlds. A lichen consists of two organisms, a fungus and a green algae or a cyanobacterium living together symbiotically.

It was only in 1867 that the dual nature of lichens was discovered by Simon Schwender, a Swiss professor of botany who was director of the Botanical Gardens in Basel. His discovery was not immediately accepted as a number of leading lichenologists did not believe that a species could be made up of two different organisms.

Some species of lichen are eaten regularly. While some species are considered a delicacy others are resorted to only in times of famine. In Northern Europe a lichen was cooked as a bread, porridge and even eaten as a salad. 

Lichens have been used for centuries to produce dyes especially red and purple. They have also been used as a source of primitive antibiotics. Some compounds in lichens are useful as they can reduce harmful rays from the sun. 

This article was published in The Times of Malta on  February 2014.