Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1350550
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 MARCH 2021 9 ALMANAC Nature Notebook 753. Alexanders EACH season has its flowers, but for sheer variety of species spring wins hands down. One plant that flowers early on in the season is the alexanders. It's a member of the carrot family, with flowers borne in typical umbrella-shaped bunches. Its flowers are not very showy, be- ing a rather greenish yellow, though insects love them well enough. Its leaves, however, strike us as familiar and the reason is because they look rather like parsley leaves, hence the Maltese name karfus il-hmir. The plant is neither rare nor too particular about its habitat, growing just as happily on a pile of construction debris as in a lush valley. Sadly, its common, wild and widespread status all too often earns it the fatal "haxixa hazina" label, fit only for a dousing of her- bicide! Victor Falzon www.birdlifemalta.org Green idea of the week 646 Order our Foraging Guide and go for a walk in nature to collect edible wild plants: Edible Wild Plants – Foraging Guide plant of the month March: Asparagus THE importance of wild plants is regrettably often overlooked with a diverse array of plant life frequently dismissed as just weeds, or haxix ħażin.Seems like the stinging plants often turn out to yield interesting rewards! Encountering the foraging plant of this month may result in some complaints as its spiky leaves get stuck to cloth- ing and often do not let you go. It is often considered as nothing but a thorny pest but in early autumn the spiny asparagus produces beautifully delicate minuscule yellow flowers and later in winter it starts producing small but delicious fleshy shoots which are per- fectly edible and have a great taste. It is quite abundant and easi- ly found. Check out the Asparagus Frittata recipe on our website : http://www.foemalta.org/asparagus! VISIT Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation – www.foe- malta.org/donate http://www.foemalta.org/foraging-guide Appster Smartphone fun and smarter work Pocket Casts Free Apple, Android Good podcast discovery and rich settings and options, including the ability to sync your listening experience across multiple devices, make Pocket Casts one of the best podcast catchers and players on the iPhone. TECH RETAILERS contact afarrugia@ mediatoday.com.mt A GOOD WEEK FOR Good Week/Bad Week Don't miss this A BAD WEEK FOR Il-Moghdija Tas-Salvazzjoni Date: 31 March, 7:30pm Location: Triq Ta' Pinu, Gharb, Gozo A drive-through theatre experience in your car. Each performance shall consist of seven episodes where the audience will meet with some characters present in the last days of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The performances will be held along Ta` Pinu Street Gharb (entrance from Triq Gharb) and each performance shall be done twice daily, the first performance starting at 7.30pm and the second performance starting at 9.00pm. This activity is organised by Ghaqda Dilettanti Gimgha l-Kbira Ghawdex, and sponsored by the Cultural Heritage Directorate within the Ministry for Gozo. For Europe. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine be approved for distribution in the European Union. For casette fans. Lou Ottens, the Dutch engineer credited with inventing the audio cassette tape, has died aged 94. An estimated 100 billion cassette tapes have been sold around the world since they were introduced in the 1960s. It is recommended for persons over the age of 18 The engineer died in his hometown of Duizel Give nature a voice. Become a BirdLife member