Species name :

Romulea × melitensisBég.
Published in Béguinot, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 38: 327 (1907)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

No Main Synonyms

Plant Family :

Iridaceae Juss. (The Iris Family)
23 species from the Iridaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands.

English name(s) :

Maltese tufted sand crocus

Maltese name(s) :

Zagħfran tal-blat ta' Malta mqanfed

Status for Malta :

Endemic. Occurs only on the Maltese islands

Frequency :

Very Common     Common    Frequent     Scarce     Rare    Very rare    Extinct

Growth form :

Germination type [info]: Monocotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Geophyte ( perennials bearing underground bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, stolons, etc. )

Legal Protection :

Protected by law: Regulation 26 of [S.L. 549.44] (Strictly protected endemic species)

Red List (1989) :

Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

February – March

Colour of Flowers:

Violet, Lilac or white

Toxicity:

Not particularly toxic

Name Derivation :

Romulea: A Genus named for Romulus, a legendary leader of the Romans and founder of Rome. (Roman origin)

melitensis: "Originating from or related to the Maltese Islands. ()

Planting in rural areas :

Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines

Remarks :

Morphological analysis demostrated that this species is a hybrid between R. columnae and R. variicolor having intermediate characters of the two parents, always co-occur with the two putative parents, and apparently it is sterile. It has a distinct feature of reproducing vegetatively forming densely packed clusters and hence forming small tufts. A controversial species described for it's damp habitat, late flowering (March-April) and small tepals only about 1mm(?) wide. The photos in this page were taken in April in a damp habitat very close to the coast