Fungus Rock

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Malta Gozo. During the occupation of the Knights of Malta, unauthorised access to the tiny rock was punishable by three years’ oarsmanship in the galleys! Why? Because there grew an endemic fungus which was highly prized for its medicinal properties.

The Knights Hospitaller apparently discovered what is popularly known as the Malta Fungus, growing on the rock's flat top. This plant, which is a kind of parasitic flowering plant, not a fungus, has a repulsive smell. Doctors at the time believed that it had medicinal properties. The Knights used it as a styptic dressing for wounds and a cure for dysentery. The Knights so prized it that they often gave gifts of Malta Fungus to distinguished noblemen and visitors to the Maltese islands.