Species Info

Species name:

Zannichellia major   Boenninghausen ex Reichenbach

Principal Synonym:

Zannichellia palustris var. major

Plant Family:

Zannichelliaceae   (Horned Pondweed Family)

General names:

Greater Horned Pondweed

Maltese name:

Ħarira tal-widien

Status:

Naturalised Alien. Not native, introduced in the last 500 years from foreign countries and now found naturalised throughout the Maltese islands

Frequency in the wild:

Very Common     Common     Frequent     Scarce     Rare     Very Rare     Extinct

Growth form:

HYDROPHYTE (Living in/on water)

Legal Protection:

Not Protected by Law (LN200/2011 or LN311/2006)

Red List 1989:

Not listed in the Flora section of the National Red Data Book (Lanfranco, 1989)

Flowering Time:

Jan-Apr

Remarks:

Zannichellia major was first found in Malta by Stephen Mifsud in 2008 from a valley. It's origin on the islands still have to be determined. Old floras mentioning Zannichellia palustris ( closely related to Z. major) refer to the rock-pool plants which later was described as Z. melitensis (a Maltese endemic). The fact that this taxon is not specifically listed in old floras (since these records refer to Z. melitensis) and that its native range is more North, indicates that the Z. major is of alien origin. On the other hand, a monograph of Zannichellia was published few decades ago, and hence recent taxonomic studies might indicate that the distibution of Z. major is more widespead to the South, since population previously identified in the past as Z. palustris s.l. may some of them turn out to be Z. major.

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