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Widnet il-Baħar.
Cheirolophus crassifolius, also known as Maltese centaury, Maltese rock-centaury, or Widnet il-Baħar, is a flowering plant in the Asteraceae family. It is only found in Malta, the national plant since 1973. Cliffs and coastal valleys are their native habitats. It is endangered because of habitat loss.
It is scarce but ubiquitous in the wild on Malta’s western cliffs, rare on Gozo’s southern cliffs, but familiar as a cultivated plant in roundabouts. It is highly prevalent near Wied Babu in Malta’s southeast.
Stefano Zerafa described it in 1830 as the only species of the monotypic genus Palaeocyanus. However, in light of genetic investigations conducted that year, it was reassigned to Cheirolophus around 2000. Cheirolophus means hand-crest, alluding to the hand-shaped bract points of most of the species in this genus, and crassifolius implies thick leaves. The leaves are spoon-shaped and succulent. Serratifolia (serrated leaves) is an extremely rare cultivar in Gozo. Because of its national significance, this species is cultivated. They’re purple with green stems. The top of the stem resembles a rock, which is why it is known as the Maltese rock-century. This plant can be found at Piscopo Gardens in Burmarrad.
