Species name :

Iris sicula Todaro

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

No Main Synonyms

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

Plant Family :

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

English name(s) :

Sicilian Iris

Maltese name(s) :

Fjurduliż Sqalli

Status for Malta :

Subendemic. Found in Malta and neighbouring territories such as in south Sicily, Lampedusa, Pantelleria, etc.

Frequency :

Very Common     Common     Frequent     Scarce     Rare     Very rare     Extinct

Growth form :

Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: GEOPHYTE (bearing underground bulbs, rhizomes, stolons, etc.)
Germination [info]: Monocotyledon

Legal Protection [link]:

Protected by law: schedule III and VI of legal notice LN311/2006. (strictly protected species)

Red List (1989) :

This species has a threatened status and is listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

Apr-May

Colour of Flowers:

Blue or Violet

Remarks :

Very debatable species for being synonymised and hence lumped by many classifications with Iris pallida, which is a species that has a widespread distribution throughout Italy and east towards ex-Jugoslavia. Investigations should be carred out to establish if I. sicula is really distinct (or not) from I. pallida, but Iris experts claim that they are different species. For now, its subendemic distinction is favoured until documented research shows otherwise. Iris sicula is also reported in Sicily and smaller islands where it is also quite rare and endangered.

Habitat in Europe:

Data will be available in the next update of this website.

Preferred habitat in Malta:

Rocky valley sides.

Botanical Description:

Data will be available in the next update of this website.

Distributional map in Europe
and the Mediterranean region (2018):

Occurrences in Europe and the Mediterranean region.
(Euro+Med Checklist, 2017) - Country codes

Ju [Al Bu Ga IJ LS Rm Sa Si]