Fungus Rock, which is colloquially known in
MalteseMaltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
as 'Il-Ġebla tal-Ġeneral' (the General's Rock), is a small islet in the form of a 60 metres high massive lump of limestone at the entrance to an almost circular black lagoon in Dwejra, on the coast of
GozoGozo is an island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...
, itself an island in the
Maltese archipelagoMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...
. Fungus Rock is located at and falls within the jurisdiction of the town
St. LawrenceSaint Lawrence is a village on the Isle of Gozo, Malta. Its name is derived from Lawrence of Rome who is the patron saint for the village. The natural reserve Fungus Rock is administratively part of the town, as is the famous Azure Window landmark....
.
The
Knights HospitallerThe Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta is a Roman Catholic order based in Rome, Italy...
apparently discovered what is popularly known as the Malta Fungus (
Fucus coccineus melitensis), growing on the rock's flat top.
Fungus Rock, which is colloquially known in
MalteseMaltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
as 'Il-Ġebla tal-Ġeneral' (the General's Rock), is a small islet in the form of a 60 metres high massive lump of limestone at the entrance to an almost circular black lagoon in Dwejra, on the coast of
GozoGozo is an island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...
, itself an island in the
Maltese archipelagoMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...
. Fungus Rock is located at and falls within the jurisdiction of the town
St. LawrenceSaint Lawrence is a village on the Isle of Gozo, Malta. Its name is derived from Lawrence of Rome who is the patron saint for the village. The natural reserve Fungus Rock is administratively part of the town, as is the famous Azure Window landmark....
.
The
Knights HospitallerThe Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta is a Roman Catholic order based in Rome, Italy...
apparently discovered what is popularly known as the Malta Fungus (
Fucus coccineus melitensis), growing on the rock's flat top. This plant, which is a rare tuber not a fungus, has a repulsive smell. Still, doctors at the time believed that it had
medicinal propertiesMany plants have traditional medical uses. Ethnobotanists and pharmacognacists catalog and study these plants and uses. This is a list of some of the more common medicinal properties that are ascribed to plants. Many of these terms are still used in modern pharmacology...
. The Knights used it as a styptic dressing for wounds and a cure for
dysenteryDysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the feces. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal....
. The Knights so prized it that they often gave gifts of Malta Fungus to distinguished noblemen and visitors to the Maltese islands.
Grand MasterGrand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various orders of knighthood, including various military orders, religious orders and sectarian orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Order...
Pinto decreed the Rock out of bounds in 1746; trespassers risked a three-year spell as oarsmen in the Knights' galleys. He posted a permanent guard there and even built a precarious cable-car basket from the rock to the mainland, 50 metres away.
Pinto's efforts were perhaps unnecessary. Later it was discovered that
Fucus coccineus melitensis has no medicinal properties whatsoever.
Nowadays, Fungus Rock is a nature reserve. However, the shoreline nearby is accessible to bathers and the sea provides perfect
snorkelingSnorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn...
.