2015Malta Flora Series II - Block of 4

Maltese Flora - Series II, species found in the countryside of the Maltese Islands. A 3-stamp set.

Notwithstanding it's small size, Malta boasts a variety of flora of over a thousand species of which 700 are indigenous while 200 are introduced species. Approximately 25 are endemic or sub-endemic, meaning they are found on the Maltese Islands or in one or two other restricted territories. The endemics, which are particular to the Maltese Islands, are either palaeoendemics, which survived only on the Islands following a southward migration after the Ice Age, or neo-endemics, species which evolved as a consequence of the Islands' isolation.

Smooth Goatsbeard
(Geropogon hybridus / Tragopogon hybridus)
The Smooth Goatsbeard is a scarce annual plant belonging to the daisy family that occurs mainly on clay soil. It is normally erect and may reach a height of about 40cm. It grows wild throughout the Mediterranean area in April and May.

Crown Anemone / Crown Windflower
(Anemone coronaria)
The Crown Anemone is an uncommon perennial herb with finely divided leaves arising from the base. The flowers have between five and eight petal-like sepals and, in Malta; these are usually bluish-violet. This flower occurs in meadows, valleys and scrublands, in the cold months between December and March. The Crown Anemone is distributed throughout the Mediterranean region, southern Europe and western Asia. Once fairly frequent, it seems to have been steadily decreasing over the last two decades.

Friar's Cowl / Jack-in-the-pulpit
(Arisarum vulgar)
The Friar's Cowl is a very common perennial herb with smooth leaves shaped like an arrow-head. The minute flowers are enclosed in a specialised striped leaf resembling a smoker's pipe. This flower grows in a variety of habitats including disturbed ground. It appears throughout the Mediterranean area and flowers mainly between November and March.
Photographer Guido Bonett captured the flowers featured on the stamps.