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 the 25th of October, by a team from the University of Malta and the Università di Catania.

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 flowering plant is only found in a small undisclosed area within the Maltese archipelago and is considered an endangered species with a very restricted distribution.

It is a small woody shrub living along a very narrow coastal limestone rocky strip, and is named after Edwin Lanfranco, a valued Maltese botanist and author of several major contributions to the floristic knowledge of the Maltese Islands.

This research work was carried out in accordance with environmental permits issued by the Environment & Resources Authority.

These studies are 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).

Photos: ERA

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