‘Ġnien il-Pjanti Maltin’ Botanical Garden

Archaeophytic trees(Section 5)

Valley Woodland(Section 4)

Woodland(Section 4)

Visitors'centre

Maquis(Section 3)

Garrigue(Section 2)

Steppe(Section 1)

Agriculture(Section 5)

PLANT HEALTH DIRECTORATE

Welcome to ‘Ġnien il-Pjanti Maltin’ Botanical Garden

and Visitors’ Centre, a site dedicated to the conservation

and the scientific research of local plants, and also to

the education on these plants. The site is located in Lija,

within the precinct of the Plant Biotechnology Centre

and is administered by the Plant Health Directorate.

The botanical garden holds a living collection of

indigenous wild plants together with specimens of

local landraces and varieties of fruiting trees and

crops. The botanical garden is divided into five sections

representing different landscapes of the Maltese rural

environment:

• Section 1 displays a selection of floral elements typical

of steppes and disturbed ground, bearing mostly

herbaceous (non-woody) perennial and annual grasses,

bulbous and tuberous plants, and many other spring-

blooming annual or biennial thistles, legumes, crucifers

and umbellifers. Some of these herbaceous plants may

undergo a dormancy period in summer and therefore

only appear during the wet season.

• Section 2 features a variety of low to medium-sized

perennial shrubs characteristic of garrigue, rupestral

communities and coastal wetlands. These species are

notable for their morphological adaptations to thrive in

a dry and/or saline environment and include a collection

of most of our local endemic plants.

• Section 3 presents a multitude of high shrubs and small

trees, which constitute the local maquis habitats.

• Section 4 is dedicated to specimens of trees, which in

nature form local woodlands.

• Section 5 holds interesting plants associated with

agriculture, which is further subdivided into two parts.

One part is dedicated to local varieties of fruit trees,

some of which are archaeophytic (species not originally

native to Malta but introduced in ancient times). The

other part includes examples of local agricultural crops

together with their wild relatives, for comparative

purposes, providing an insight into the effects of

artificial selection over the centuries. A herb garden

is also present, exhibiting various aromatic plants

traditionally used as culinary condiments or in medicinal

preparations.

The final design of the botanical garden took into

account the natural environmental conditions of the

various habitats and the ecological requirements of the

characteristic species.

Plants adapted to dry conditions were located in

areas exposed to the sun, while plants typical of damp

habitats were placed in shaded areas. Riparian trees,

which naturally grow in valleys, have been positioned in

the shallowest area formed by a gentle incline, where

rainwater is directed to flow. Trees formerly present in

the old garden were also integrated within the present

design.

The botanical garden is traversed by a circular footpath

passing through the various sections and designed in a

manner to control the visitors’ flow. It also features a

number of seating benches at regular intervals along the

footpath where one can further admire the beauty of

this garden.

Address:

Plant Health Directorate, Plant Biotechnology Centre,

Annibale Preca Str, Lija LJA 1915, Malta.

Website: www.planthealth.gov.mt

Telephone: 22926535

Email: plant.health@gov.mt

Parliamentary Secretariat for agriculture,fiSherieS and animal rightS