| |
|
 | |
| Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud |
|
| |
|
|
 |  |  |  |
| External Links: |
|
Helichrysum italicum (Italian curry plant) |
Helichrysum italicum (ASTERACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.
Website launch: Oct-2002
Taxonomic update: Aug-2026
Code update: Jul-2026 |
|
| Nomenclature and General Information |
Species name : |
Helichrysum italicum(Roth) G.Don
Published in Hort. Brit. : 342 (1830) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
|
Plant Family : |
Asteraceae Bercht. & J.Presl (The Daisy or Sunflower Family) Previously included in Compositae
144 species from the Asteraceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Italian curry plant, Italian Everlasting, Italian Starflower |
Maltese name(s) : |
Sempreviva tal-Italja, Pjanta tal-Kari |
Status for Malta : |
Persisting Alien. Introduced species for horticulture (flowering plants) or agriculture (herbs or fruiting trees)
usually within the last 2 centuries and persist after their original location or site is abandoned.
They do not widespread but usually remain as a single tree or a very localised population. |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Germination type [info]: Dicotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Chameophyte ( small woody shrubs with vegetative buds well above the ground ) |
Legal Protection : |
Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025) |
Red List (1989) : |
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands |
Flowering Time : |
April – July |
Colour of Flowers: |
Yellow |
Toxicity: |
Not particularly toxic |
Name Derivation : |
Helichrysum: Literally meaning golden (-chrysum) sun (Heli-), an old name used for some curry-plants alluding to the golden colour of their flowers. (Greek origin)
italicum: originating from or related to Italy, for example described first from Italy. (Latin origin)
|
Planting in rural areas : |
Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines |
Remarks : |
Cultivated plant for its spice although in Malta it is not popular as for other herbs. Solitarily individuals were observed in a few locations possibly as an escapee or deliberately planted in the wild, yet in one location it was found in a garigue away from any human dwelling. Three main subspecies are describe and since the plants seen in the wild were not flowering, the exact subspecies could not be determined, but likely they belong to subsp. italicum. |
|
|
Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Botanical Description |
Aromatic. Stems (10-)20-50 cm, angular. Leaves (5-)10-30(-40) mm, narrowly linear, greenish and sparsely tomentose to glabrescent or rarely white-tomentose. Inflorescence 1·5-8 cm across; involucre 2-4 mm in diameter, oblong-cylindrical to narrowly campanulate; bracts closely and regularly imbricate, all, except usually the outermost, glandular, the inner at least 5 times as long as the outer, narrowly oblong to linear, scarious, the outer broadly rounded, coriaceous, usually tomentose. Achenes with scattered shining white glands or eglandular. | |
Habitat in Europe |
Dry rocky places
| |
Preferred habitat in Malta |
Low garigue, rocky ground close to urban areas
| |
Chromosome number(s) |
2n=28 | |
Distributional range |
S. Europe.
|
Distributional maps from various sources |
|
Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993) |
the Balaeric Islands, Corse, Crete, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Greece, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Italy (mainland, excl. Sicily and Sardinia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta
|
Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
Country codes
|
AE(G) Ag BH Bl(I M) Cg Co Cr Ct Cy Ga(F) Gr Hs(S) It Lu Ma Sa Si(S) Sl Tn Tu(A) [aBr pCm cCs]
|
|
| Links & Further literature
(0 papers) |
Google Web |
Google Images |
Google Scholar |
Research Gate |
Wikipedia |
JSTOR |
GBIF |
Med Checklist |
Cat. of Life |
EoL |
IPNI |
World Flora Online |
Plants of the World Online |
Vienna Virt. Herb. |
RBGE Herbarium |
KEW Herbarium |
MNHN |
Garden Database |
IUCN |
TROPICOS |
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local
studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.
|
|
Sales and Donations
|
 |
Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta: Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).
How it works: First, submit a quotation request by completing the Online Quotation Form (link provided on the right side of this table). Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive confirmation regarding seed availability, export eligibility (where applicable), pricing, and any transport charges. Payments are accepted by Revolut, bank transfer (IBAN), or PayPal only; credit and debit card payments are not accepted.
Please note that local orders are currently not being accepted. Seek Maltese nurseries and NGOs for local orders.
|
Online Quotation (Seeds)
|
 |
Buy Images: Purchase photographs from this extensive online collection of Maltese flora by Stephen Mifsud. Images are available at reasonable prices, with rates varying according to image size and resolution. Your purchase helps support the maintenance and development of this website. When placing an order, please note the image code displayed beneath each photograph on the corresponding species page, as this is required when completing the online order form. Images are normally supplied under a license agreement, with copyright retained by the author; however, the sale of copyright for exceptional images may be considered on request.
|
Online Purchase (Images)
|
 |
Support this ad-free website Kindly consider to support this website by giving a small donation which will help to cover some expenses needed to pay the webserver and domains, maintain the website without any adverts, upgrading the code, including more wild plants and photos, and adding further data amongst other developments. You can use the links on the right for direct donations to this website by PayPal or Revolut. Even a 5 or 10 Eur donation is appreciated. Remember this website was ad*free since its launch back in 2002 and has served as an environmental educational tool for over 20 years.
|
💙 Donate by PayPal
💳 Donate by Revolut
|
|
| Contribute Information or Report Errors |
Use this form to submit additional information about this species or to report any inaccuracies on this webpage.
If the information you provide is sourced from a book, journal, website, or any other publication, rather then your own information or experience, then please include the relevant reference or web address whenever possible. Your email address will be used solely for internal communication and will not be shared. We greatly appreciate reports of: taxonomic updates; species misidentifications; incorrect or outdated information, broken links, technical website issues, or any additional information specific to the plant in this webpage.
Your contributions help to improve the accuracy and quality of this website. Thank you! Fill any of the three sections (A/B/C) below: .
|
|
|
|
| | |
Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution Map
WFO Distribution map
