Species name :

Anthyllis hermanniae subsp. melitensisBrullo & Giusso
Published in Sp. Pl. : 720 (1753)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Aspalathus cretica L.

Full list of synonyms : [Euro+Med] [PlantList] [IPNI] [POWO] [Catalogue of Life] [Worldplants.de]

Plant Family :

Fabaceae Lindl. (=Leguminosae) (The Pea Family)
106 species from the Fabaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands.

English name(s) :

Maltese Yellow Kidney Vetch, Maltese Shrubby Kidney Vetch

Maltese name(s) :

Ħatba s-sewda ta' Malta, Ħatba s-safra ta' Malta

Status for Malta :

Endemic. Occurs only on the Maltese islands

Frequency :

Very Common     Common    Frequent     Scarce     Rare    Very rare    Extinct

Growth form :

Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: CHAMEOPHYTE ( dwarf or small woody shrubs )
Germination [info]: Dicotyledon

Legal Protection :

Not legally protected till the last update of this website (2/Mar/2022)

Red List (1989) :

Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

April – June

Colour of Flowers:

Yellow

Toxicity:

Not particularly toxic

Name Derivation :

Anthyllis: Meaning a flower (Anthos) and down-facing / downy (ioulos/ yllis) with reference to the downy hairs on the calyx (and sometimes the flowers too). (Greek origin )

hermanniae subsp. melitensis:

Planting in rural areas :

Encouraged to be planted in the wild that is in rural areas including ODZ.

Remarks :

The scientists Salvatore Brullo and Gianpetro Giusso del Galdo have studied and compared many morphological features of several specimens of Anthyllis hermanniae s.l. in the Mediterranean region. Results showed that the Maltese population has significant different characters from the rest. As a result they concluded that the Maltese specimens corresponds to a new subspecies and consequently have described the taxon - Anthyllis hermanniae subsp. melitensis . This was published in 2006 and currently this species is considered as an endemic to the Maltese Islands. The study have actually split the taxon into 7 subspecies, most being strict endemics and reckognized the species Anthyllis hystrix from the Balaeric Islands.