Maltese Habitats
Steppic Grassland
This is treeless grassland dominated by grasses, umbellifers, thistles and geophytes.
Steppic grasslands are widespread and result from degardation of the maquis and garigue, mainly due to grazing, but also in response to other factors.
Some steppic communities are however, climatic and semi-climatic, for example, those dominated by Esparto Grass (Lygeum spartum) which develop on clay slopes.
The more degraded steppes are characterised by Common Awn-grass (Stipa capensis), Aegilops (Aegilops geniculata) and a variety of thistles such as Horse Thistle (Notobasis syriaca), Mediterranean Thistle (Galactites tomentosa) and geophytes such as Ashpodel (Asphodelus aestivus) Sea Squill (Urginea pancration) and Sicilian Squill (Scilla sicula). Other steppic communities may also develop on abandoned agricultural land.
