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This blog is dedicated to Malta - my island home. My aim is not to bore you with history but to share my thoughts and a few facts together with a photo or two. For a more in -depth background of the island please go here. The purpose of this blog is not to point out the short-comings of the island. There are plenty that do that already. My wish is to show you the beauty of an island at the cross roads of the Mediterranean, a melting pot of history; a place where fact and fiction are sometimes fused to create unique myths and legends; a country that has been conquered so many times that our culture is a mish mesh of the lands that surround us and of lands far away. I confess that my greatest desire is to make you fall in love with this tiny enchanting island.

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Thursday 22 March 2012

Wildflowers Of Malta – Hoary Stocks

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This wildflower (known in Maltese as Gizi) is not endemic to the Maltese islands. It was introduced in the last 500 years and may be found sporadically around the island. Its Latin name is Matthiola incana and it is of the  mustard cress family. Hoary stocks flower between March and May.

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I found this particular plant in a most unusual place – underneath the forbidding walls of Fort St Elmo in Valletta. It was all but hidden in the rest of the vegetation but I did not miss its small, vibrant purple flowers peeping out from amongst the rest of the foliage along the path.

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Hoary Stocks

Photographed in Valletta

March 2012

I am indebted for all information regarding wild flowers and plants of Malta to the excellent and informative website Malta Wild Plants.

6 comments:

  1. Simply gorgeous! I imagine the air smelled sweet and spicy by that wall.

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  2. They are so vivid! From a country that is relatively young, it amazes me that this flower, a newcomer, was brought to the island 500 years ago! Malta's history is amazing, and your knowledge vast. Thank you for sharing these flowers.

    Bises,
    Genie

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  3. Wow..totally beautiful..blissful! I have missed visiting your magical realm! gorgeous photos
    Victoria

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  4. I am very ignorant when it comes to flower's names ! I only see their beauty ! and this one is really gorgeous !

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  5. Such a lovely color, and looks so pretty against the wall.

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