Family Description: Cistaceae, commonly known as the rock-rose family, is a small but ecologically significant group of flowering plants in the order Malvales. It includes about 170 to 200 species across 8 genera, primarily native to the Mediterranean region, with some species extending into North and South America.
These plants are typically subshrubs or low shrubs, though a few are herbaceous. They thrive in dry, sunny habitats and are well adapted to poor, rocky soils, often forming part of Mediterranean scrublands. Many species are cultivated for their ornamental value, thanks to their profusion of showy, short-lived flowers in shades of white, pink, or yellow.
Flowers are bisexual and actinomorphic, usually solitary or arranged in cymes. Most species have five free petals, often crumpled in bud, and five sepals, with the outer two narrower and sometimes functioning as bracteoles. Stamens are numerous and variable in length, arising from a disc at the base of the ovary. The ovary is superior, typically tricarpellary, with parietal placentation and multiple ovules per placenta.
Fruits are capsules, usually dehiscing by five or ten valves, and seeds are small, hard-coated, and often require scarification or fire to germinate—an adaptation to wildfire-prone environments. Many species form mycorrhizal associations with fungi like Tuber, enhancing nutrient uptake in poor soils.
Notable genera include Cistus, Helianthemum, Tuberaria, and Lechea.
Thyme Rock Rose, Thyme-leaved Rock Rose, Clammy Cistus
Ċistu żgħir
Mar-May
Normal Profile with
images.
CUCURBITACEAE Juss.
( Gourd or Cucumber Family )
Subfamalies: Cucurbitoideae; Zanonioideae;
Family Description: Cucurbitaceae, commonly known as the gourd family, is a vibrant and economically vital group of flowering plants in the order Cucurbitales. It includes around 98 to 101 genera and nearly 975 species, many of which are cultivated worldwide for food, ornamentals, or fiber. Familiar members include cucumbers, melons, squashes, pumpkins, gourds, and loofahs.
Most cucurbits are fast-growing, herbaceous vines, either annual or perennial, with tendrils that help them climb or sprawl. These tendrils are typically spirally coiled and arise opposite the leaves, which are alternate, simple, and palmately lobed or veined. The stems are often angular and hairy, and the plants are highly sensitive to frost, limiting their cultivation to warmer climates.
Flowers are unisexual, with male and female flowers usually borne on the same plant (monoecious), though dioecy also occurs. They are pentamerous, with five sepals and five petals, often yellow or white. Male flowers typically have five stamens, which may be free or fused in complex ways, while female flowers have an inferior ovary composed of three fused carpels with parietal placentation.
The fruit is a pepo, a specialized type of fleshy berry with a tough rind and many seeds. These fruits can reach impressive sizes, and in some species, like the Javan cucumber (Alsomitra macrocarpa), seeds are winged for wind dispersal.
Family Description: Malvaceae, commonly known as the mallow family, is an extraordinarily diverse group of flowering plants within the order Malvales. This broadly circumscribed family now includes genera formerly placed in Bombacaceae, Tiliaceae, and Sterculiaceae—a change spurred by molecular phylogenetic studies that revealed these groups form a single monophyletic lineage.
Morphologically, members of Malvaceae exhibit a remarkable range in growth habit: they can be herbaceous annuals, perennial shrubs, or even towering trees. Leaves are generally alternate and simple, often displaying a palmate venation pattern and covered with stellate (star-shaped) or simple hairs that exude mucilage when crushed. A key diagnostic feature of many mallows is their showy, actinomorphic flowers typically structured in fives; most species possess 5 free sepals and 5 free petals. In several subfamilies—especially Malvoideae—the stamens are united by their filaments into a conspicuous staminal column that encircles the central style, a feature that greatly enhances the aesthetic appeal of these flowers. An additional floral element is the epicalyx, a whorl of bract-like structures that lies just outside the true calyx.
The superior ovary usually develops into a dehiscent capsule (often a schizocarp) that splits open to release several seeds. Economically and culturally, Malvaceae is significant, boasting notable species such as Gossypium (cotton), Theobroma cacao (cocoa), Hibiscus (ornamentals), and Abelmoschus esculentus (okra), among many others
