A new endemic plant has been discovered in Malta by researchers studying types of sea lavender.
The Lanfranco’s Sea Lavender, (Limonium lanfracoi, il‑limonju ta’ Lanfranco in Maltese), was described for the first time in a scientific paper published on October 25.
The flowering plant is only found in a small area within the Maltese archipelago and is considered an endangered species with a very restricted distribution.
In a statement announcing its discovery, the Environment and Resources Authority said the plant was found within an undisclosed Natura 2000 site and described it as “a small woody shrub living along a very narrow coastal limestone rocky strip”.
The plant is closely related to another coastal flowering shrub unique to the Maltese Islands, the Maltese Sea‑Lavender, but is genetically and physically distinct.
Its exact location is not being revealed to protect the very rare species.
The new form of sea lavender is protected under the Environment Protection Act and its collection, picking, sale, transport and export are prohibited.
However, permits may be granted for selected reasons, including scientific research. More information about permitting is available here.
Scientists from the Università di Catania and the University of Malta worked together on the paper describing the new endemic species. The Maltese scientists included Ms Dorita Agius who is a lecturer at Junior College and a student at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking of the University of Malta. The team from Catania included Professor Salvatore Brullo, who has done extensive studies of the flora of Malta and is considered an authority on the group of plants Limonium.
The scientific publication also provides a detailed analysis of the four different sea‑lavender species identified in Malta and their conservation status, which also include a third endemic sea‑lavender, also unique to the Maltese Islands, namely the Zerapha’s Sea Lavender (Limonium zeraphae, il‑limonju ta’ Żerafa).
“'New species often develop in isolated environments, where they change to adapt to the specific environment. Plant species living on the Maltese shoreline are adapted to this harsh environment. We are planning to study these characteristics to be able to improve crop production especially with the steadily increasing global temperatures,” researcher Dorita Agius said.
ERA Director for Environment and Resources Darrin T Stevens thanked Agius and her co‑workers for spearheading this work as part of their research and emphasised how such research work is changing our perspective on our rich biodiversity, noting how so many new native species being described from Malta is the last few years.
The research work was carried out in accordance with environmental permits issued by the ERA. Studies were enabled by research grants from the Malta Council for Science and Technology – Research of Excellence: EDGE (REP-2020-009) and EPOM (REP-2023-033) and IPAS+: CoL (IPAS-2022-005) and CoLII (IPAS-2023-014).