These Sand Crocuses, very rare in the British Isles, are very common on the rocky coastal paths of Gozo. We walked on many of the leaves before coming across several patches which were full of flowers and seed heads. Because there are at least four different species of sand crocus, each quite variable, these plants are tricky to identify. This is by no means a 100% identification but the flower colour is about right, the habit with leaves of 2mm to 4mm adpressed to the ground then going curly, and the leaf width corresponds pretty well. However if you are an expert on Romulea or very familiar with the flora of the Maltese islands and think this an incorrect id please let me know.

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Mainland Rocks opposite Fungus Rock, 22nd March 2005

Added on 22nd February 2007, updated August 25th 2008