Għargħar

Gharghar

Għargħar: young, mature and old
Maltese	l-għargħar
Species	Tetraclinis articulata
Generation
Grows in	its real sites only
Sizes	young, mature, old (about 5, 7 and 9 blocks tall)
Blocks
Trunk	spruce log and wood
Roots	spruce stairs, slabs and fences
Leaves	spruce 75 %, dark oak 25 %

The għargħar is Malta's national tree. In Malta in Minecraft it grows only where it grows in real life, which makes it one of the rarest trees in the world.

Appearance

• Young: a narrow, slightly ragged pyramid on a single trunk, 4-5 blocks tall.
• Mature: one or two stems, bare at the bottom, with an upright, irregular crown of dark spray clumps; 6-7 blocks of trunk.
• Old: two or three stems growing from the base and leaning apart, with a broader, open, uneven crown; 8-9 blocks of trunk.

The shape follows the description of the real tree: pyramidal when young, irregular with age, often with several stems. The trunk is spruce logs with spruce wood bark, the foot spruce stairs, slabs and fences, and the dark leaves are a mix of spruce and dark oak leaves.

Generation

The għargħar never appears in the general tree mix. It grows only at its real sites:

• Ta' Pennellu, Wied il-Miżieb: the largest wild stand. Its outline was traced from aerial photographs, and about two thirds of the trees inside it are għargħar (about 100 trees); the others are the usual trees for their setting.
• Single trees at il-Maqluba (1), San Ġużepp tat-Targa (1), Wied il-Għasel (3) and Ġnien Ingraw (8).

In real life

Tetraclinis articulata is a small conifer of the western Mediterranean and North Africa. In Malta fewer than about 130 mature wild trees remain, most of them in Wied il-Miżieb.