Two new Casual Grasses from Malta

The occurrence of two casual grasses, Urochloa panicoides P. Beauv. and Echinochloa frumentacea Link in the Maltese islands is recorded for the first time.peer-reviewe

The vegetation of the Ghadira Nature Reserve

The Ghadira Nature reserve is one of the few salt-marshes still extant in the Maltese Islands. The indigenous vegetation is dominated by halophilic and salt-tolerant species such as Phragmites australis, Inula crithmoides, Juncus acutus, Juncus subulatus, Triglochin ballelieri, Melilotus messanensis, Salicomia ramosissima, Suaeda maritima, Salsola soda and Parapholis filifonnis. Management of the reserve has resulted in the introduction of three main categories of plants (a) species from the adjacent dune such as Elymus farctum, Sporobolus arenarius and Pancratium maritimum; (b) species, mainly trees and shrubs, introduced in order to attract birds and (c) halophytic species introduced from other salt-marsh areas in order to protect them from extinction such as Carex extensa, Halimione portulacoides and a possibly undescribed species as Limonium. Tamarix species, especially T. africana and Atriplcx halimus were introduced long before the establishment of the reserve but their numbers have been augmented as part of the reserve management policy. Another component of the vegetation is represented by weed species such as Oxalis pes-caprae and Sonchus cf. oleraceus, some of which have greatly increased in abundance.peer-reviewe

New records for the Maltese flora : Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertner subsp. ajricana (Kennedy- O'byrne) S. Phillips (Poaceae) and Centranthus macrosiphon Boissier (Caprifoliaceae)

The occurrence in Malta of Centranthus macrosiphon Boissier and of Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertner subsp. africana (Kennedy-O'Byrne) S. Phillips as adventive weeds is reported for the first time.peer-reviewe

A contribution to the freshwater macroalgal flora of the Maltese Islands

A number of freshwater macroalgae are recorded for the fIrst time from the Maltese Islands.' These are: Tetrasporidium lundii, Palm ella miniata, Stigeoc!onium tenue, Monostroma bullosum, Spirogyra parvula, Spirogyra cf. occidentalis, Klebsormidium cf:jlaccidum, Tolypella glomerata, Vaucheria geminata, Vaucheria mulleola and Vaucheria verticil/ata. Of these the most biogeographically important are Tetrasporidium lundii which constitutes the fIrst record for Europe and the Mediterranean area and Vaucheria mulleola, which was previously known only from Swedish Lapland.peer-reviewe

Additions to the Maltese flora

Ipomoea cainca (L.) Sweet; Conyza floribunda Kunth and Secale cereale L. are recorded as new to the Maltese flora. The first definite record of Potamogeton pectinatus L. is also given here, previous records being ascribed to errors in identification.peer-reviewe

Il-flora u l-veġetazzjoni ta' Ħal Kirkop

Il-lokal ta' Ħal Kirkop hu wieħed agrikolu kif ukoll industrijali; jispikkaw ukoll il-barrieri. Għaldaqstant, wieħed ma' jistenniex veġetazzjoni naturali. Madanakollu, hemm ukoll dak li hu ta' interess. Fit-toroq tar-raħal, insibu għadd ta' siġar ikkultivati sabiex isebbħu. Fost dawn insibu l-Bżar Falz (Schinus terebinthifolia), iċ-Ċipress (Cupressus sempervirens), is-Siġra ta' Ġuda (Cercis siliquastrum), l-Akaċja (Acacia saligna) u l-Ewkaliptus (Eucalyptus gomphocephala). Ta' min jgħid li għalkemm is-Siġra ta' Ġuda ma tikbirx salvaġġa fil-gżejjer Maltin, instabu fdalijiet ta' njam maħruq tagħha mill-perjodu Neolitiku bikri (Fażi "Għar Dalam") mill-Iskorba (Metcalfe, 1966) u, għaldaqstant, jidher li kienet siġra naturali Maltija, fil-qedem. Is-siġra tal-Bżar Falz, indiġena tal-Amerika ta' Isfel, hi siġra li tintuża ħafna bħala ornamentali fit-toroq Maltin; huwa interessanti li f'dawn l-aħħar għoxrin sena bdiet taħrab u tikber weħidha fis-salvaġġ.peer-reviewe

New records for the Maltese flora : Centaurea acaulis L. (Family Asteraceae)

Centaurea acaulis L. is native to Tunisia and Algeria (Pottier-Alapetite, 1981) and is also known to occur in Lampedusa, one of the Pelagian Islands, 210km south of Sicily, 128 km from the Tunisian coast (Bartolo et al. 1988) and 150 km from Malta (Sommier, 1908), and in the north of Spain (Guinea Lopez & Ceballos Jimenez, 1974). In the February of2001, one of us (RB) encountered a population of this species in leaf on the Nuffara plateau in Gozo.peer-reviewe

The macrofungi of the Maltese Islands : additions and notes

Fifty species of macrofungi are recorded for the first tim.e from the Maltese Islands in the form of a classified annotated list; A brief history of the study of macrofungi in Malta is also given.peer-reviewe

Notes on the flora of Malta : Juncus Subulatus Forskal

Large populations of Juncus subula~us Forsk3l have been observed In several localities in Malta, notabLy at Gnadira, Salini, Gnajn Rinana, Gnejna, Wied iL-~mar; Gnajn ~adld, Mistra and Wied Gerzuma (fig.1). The first two stations are sa L t-marshes whi Le in the other stations this species grows along freshwater courses.peer-reviewe

Notes on the flora of Malta 2 : Ammannia coccinea Rottboel

In June 1978 an unfamiliar Lythraceous plant was found growing at Marsa (east Malta) by one of the authors (MB). The plant was later identified as Ammannia coccinea Rottb., a native of the Americas (from U.S.A. to Brazil). It is known in Europe as an adventive weed of rice-fields in Spain and Portugal (WEBB, 1968; GUINEA LOPEZ and CEBALLOS JIMENES, 1974). More recently it was recorded, again in rice-fields, from Piedmont (provinces of Alessandria and Novara), Italy (ABBA, 1977).peer-reviewe