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The area |

The Ta' Cenc property contains one of the most extensive underdeveloped and relatively unspoiled area in the Maltese islands. Its ecological importance has been unequivocally established in Technical Studies, where Dr. Schembri lists 25 rare, endangered and ecologically important species in his report. He invokes the image of a mosaic to describe the the rich diversity and interconnection of the plant communities at Ta' Cenc. The idea of the mosaic also captures an important aspect of the sense of the place in that the site is much more a surface than an enclosure. Virtually nothing grows higher than a meter off the ground and the experience of the ground as a sort of ecological tapestry becomes very clear as one walks over the site. The general impression is one of the tenuousness and tenacity of the ground cover: plants grow in the cracks in the rock and on the cliff faces, flower cluster at the edges of the rock pools.

Slight changes in the environmental conditions have obvious consequences in respect of the predominant plant species. Crossing the ridge at il Qortin il-Kbir, the change in the Garigue is extremely clear, as is the fact that the forces at work in contrast with the greater parts of the Maltese islands, are entirely natural. This delicate balance in the ecosystem, its complexity, its relatively unspoiled quality and the presence of both rate and typical plant species give the place its sense of ecological rarity.