Fungus rock

Fungus rock
	Fungus Rock off Gozo
Waters	Dwejra Bay, Mediterranean
Archipelago	Maltese islands
Geographical location	36 ° 2 '48 " N , 14 ° 11' 20" E Coordinates: 36 ° 2 '48 " N , 14 ° 11' 20" E
length	136 m
width	82 m
surface	0.6 ha
Highest elevation	65 m
Residents	uninhabited
	Fungus Rock in Dwejra Bay

Fungus Rock , also in Maltese Il-Ġebla tal-Ġeneral or Ħaġret il-Ġeneral ( German "Fels des Generals" ), is a small island in the form of a large offshore island of Gozo (Republic of Malta ) in the west, which partially closes off Dwejra Bay , about 65 meter high limestone blocks . It is uninhabited and belongs to the municipality of San Lawrenz .

Maltese sponge ( Cynomorium coccineum )

The Maltese name goes back to a squadron leader of the Order of Malta who discovered the Maltese sponge ( Cynomorium coccineum ) on the island, which was then considered a medicinal plant . Since the chlorophyll-free , parasitic plant was initially regarded as a fungus, the island got its English name “Fungus Rock” ( German “ Mushroom Rock ” ). Fungus Rock is home to Malta's only occurrence of this rare plant (which is also found in a few other locations in the Mediterranean ).

To make it easier to transport the Maltese sponge, Grand Master Pinto had a kind of cable car built over the 50 meter wide waterway. The Order of Malta used the plant to stop bleeding, among other things, and also sold extracts as an aphrodisiac to European royal houses. The removal of the Maltese sponge by third parties was strictly forbidden and a watchtower originally built in the 17th century to protect against Turkish pirates in Dwejra Bay, the Dwejra Tower , was rededicated in the 18th century to monitor the island accordingly.

In 1992 the island was declared a nature reserve and may only be climbed for teaching or scientific purposes. The famous tourist attractions Blue Hole and Inland Sea as well as the Azure Window, which collapsed in March 2017, are in the immediate vicinity .

Fungus rock

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