Project Pancake Flora –
The delicate flowers of the thorny Bramble. Photo thanks to Guido Bonett
It may be painfully thorny and impenetrable but the Bramble also yields the softest of fruits – blackberries. Ripe at this time of year, they are a treat for both animals (especially birds) as well as foraging humans. Its dense green cover creates the perfect shaded habitat sought especially by the Cetti’s Warbler (Cettia cetti) whose name in Maltese indicates this preference as a nesting site – Bagħal tal-Għollieq. At a time when everywhere is parched by the long summer drought it is always a refreshing find to come across its delicious berries.
Rubus species are featured both in the “100 Plants to Feed the Bees: Provide a Healthy Habitat to Help Pollinators Thrive” as a fantastic pollinator plant for numerous bee species as well as in our own Foraging Guide. You may be tempted to try out the suggested recipe for a yummie Blackberry and Apple Sponge Cake as detailed in the guidebook.
Check out our Community library for publications on local biodiversity!
Blackberries, Photo thanks to Guido Bonett
Click here to get an insight into Trees and Shrubs of the Maltese Islands and their Habitats by Eman J. Calleja.
Photos by Guido Bonett and text by Annalise Falzon
Plants and Nature Conveying Augmented Knowledge for Everyone
