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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 JUNE 2023 7 ALMANAC Nature Notebook 872. Silvery Ragwort FINALLY spring has given way to summer and the sun relentlessly bakes the countryside into myriad shades of brown, and one is hard put to find a patch of green. Many of our flora species wisely pack up for summer and sleep away the broiling months, but some hardy customers positively bask in the heat, and actually complete their act of bravado by bursting into flower. One of these is the silvery ragwort, a shrub that often grows not far from the sea (not that an- ywhere in Malta is really far from the sea!) For most of the year the silvery ragwort (M. kromb il-baħar isfar) keeps a low profile, just a shock of wavy greyish leaves with pale undersides, hence the silvery name. But now it shoots out bunches of flowers of an almost pain- fully bright lemon and chrome yellow, and quite irresistible to any insect buzzing past. June Plant of the Month: Sea Bindweed (MT: Leblieb il- Baħar) One of the plants which is common to all participating countries of the PANCAKE Project happens to be one very rare species – also known by the name of Beach Morning Glory. Listed already as "Very rare" even in the 70's (A Flora of the Maltese Islands – S.M. Haslam, P.D. Sell and P.A. Wolseley 1977) and as "Rare and endangered" in Alex Casha's Flora of the Maltese Islands (2020) this Red Data Book plant is only to be found on sand dunes. With its habitat being extremely rare in malta (and having suffered many destructive impacts) this bindweed is nowadays very diffi- cult to spot in the Maltese Islands despite being a widespread species else- where in the world The pink-white striped solitary flowers appear around summertime and with its dark green heart-shaped leaves may appear quite dainty and delicate but in effect it is very well adapted to growing in some of the harshest conditions. Alas, this resilience has not been enough to spare it from its local fate. In the past it was popular as a foraging and medicinal plant but has since become a locally protected species. Victor Falzon, www.birdlifemalta.org Green idea of the week 760: For more information check out https://foemalta.org/projects/pancake/ 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.foemalta.org/donate Don't miss this Midsummer Classics 1 July Place:Greek Theatre, Attard The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra takes over the Malta National Park Amphitheatre in Ta' Qali for a unique open-air concert. The programme for the evening features a bonanza of works by Maltese composers including Nani, Pace, Camilleri and Vella. Grieg's timeless and astounding Peer Gynt Suite ends this musical evening. Give nature a voice. Become a BirdLife member Isle of MTV Malta 2023 18 July Place: Il-Fosos, Valletta Europe's largest free music festival, Isle of MTV Malta is one of THE established dates in the summer music festival calendar will return to the iconic Il-Fosos Square on July 18th 2023 A GOOD WEEK Good Week/Bad Week A BAD WEEK Taylor Swift is officially bringing her tour to Europe and the UK. The pop powerhouse will be taking The Eras Tour to Asia, Australia and Europe in 2024, with the first leg kicking off in February! Five passengers onboard the Titan submersible that went missing on Sunday in the Atlantic Ocean died after the vessel suffered a "catastrophic implosion", the US Coast Guard said. Taylor has nine dates lined up for the UK – four of which are at London's Wembley Stadium – and another two in Ireland The conclusion was reached after a remotely operated vehicle scouring the seabed found debris some 480m away from the wreck of the Titanic on Thursday afternoon Photo by Guido Bonett, text by Annalise Falzon