Allium Achaium Boiss. (Alliaceae), a Critical Species of Greek Flora

Abstract Bogdanovic, S., C. Brullo, S. Brullo, G. Giusso del Galdo, C. M. Musarella & C. Salmeri (2011). Allium achaium Boiss. (Alliaceae), a critical species of Greek flora. Candollea 66: 57–64. In English, English and French abstracts. Allium achaium Boiss. (Alliaceae), a critical and misappreciated species of Greek flora is investigated from a taxonomic point of view and illustrated. It belongs to sect. Codonoprasum Rchb. and shows close relationships with the taxa of the Allium stamineum Boiss. group. Karyology, ecology and distribution of that species are examined.

A new species of Ferula (Apiaceae) from Malta

Ferula melitensis, a new species from the Malta Archipelago, is described and illustrated. It belongs to the taxonomic group of F. communis, showing close relationships mainly with F. tunetana, F. arrigonii, F. communis s.str. and F. glauca, from which it differs in several features regarding the stem, leaves (mainly for shape and size of terminal segments), flowers and mericarps; other significant differences regard the ecology and phenology. The investigations, carried out on living plants, herbarium material and literature data, regard the morphological analysis of vegetative and reproductive structures, the anatomy of terminal leaf segments and mericarps, as well as the shape and size o…

Benchmarking plant diversity of Palaearctic grasslands and other open habitats

© 2021 The Authors.

Facebook groups as citizen science tools for plant species monitoring

I social network sono canali di comunicazione utilizzati per condividere enormi quantità di dati, che possono essere utilizzati per la ricerca scientifica, anche nel campo della biodiversità. Per sapere quanto i dati ricavati dai social network possono integrare quelli raccolti per scopi scientifici, è necessario individuarne i bias. Utilizzando i dati estratti da un gruppo Facebook specializzato nella flora vascolare siciliana, abbiamo analizzato quali sono i caratteri che aumentano la probabilità che una pianta spontanea venga fotografata e postata su un social network. A tal fine, abbiamo confrontato frequenze e attributi delle specie fotografate dai membri del gruppo Facebook con quelli…

Vicia brulloi (Fabaceae), a new species from Sicily

Vicia brulloi, a new species from Peloritani range in NE Sicily, is described and illustrated. It is a perennial climbing liane linked to riparian woods, showing close relationship mainly with V. pisiformis, having a scattered European distribution. In particular, V. brulloi is a very rare and extremely localized species morphologically well distinct from V. pisiformis in several remarkable features, such as the dense indumentum covering the vegetative structures and calyces, the shape and size of flower pieces, pods, seeds, as well as seed testa micromorphology. Another relevant peculiarity of V. brulloi is the lower tooth of the calyx replaced by a green leafy appendix, character infreque…

Alnus glutinosa Riparian Woodlands of Italy and Corsica: Phytosociological Classification and Floristic Diversity

A comparative analysis of the riparian vegetation dominated by Alnus glutinosa in Italy and Tyrrhenian islands, based on literature data and unpublished relevés, is presented. A total of 456 phytosociological relevés were processed. For the definition of plant communities and alliances, hierarchical clustering was performed by using Bray-Curtis coefficient and Detrended Correspondence Analysis ordination methods. Identification of diagnostic species of the vegetation units was performed by means of the phi fidelity index. Quantum GIS software version 3.6 was used for the interpolation of the bioclimatic variables and A. glutinosa communities. Overall, a total of 18 A. glutinos…

Fine‐grain beta diversity of Palaearctic grassland vegetation

QUESTIONS: Which environmental factors influence fine-grain beta diversity of vegetation and do they vary among taxonomic groups? LOCATION: Palaearctic biogeographic realm. METHODS: We extracted 4,654 nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes between 0.0001 m² and 1,024 m² from the GrassPlot database, covering a wide range of different grassland and other open habitat types. We derived extensive environmental and structural information for these series. For each series and four taxonomic groups (vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, all), we calculated the slope parameter (z-value) of the power law species–area relationship (SAR), as a beta diversity measure. We tested whe…

Syntaxonomic survey of the class Pegano harmalae‐Salsoletea vermiculatae Br.‐Bl. & O. Bolos 1958 in Italy

After a general outline on the syntaxonomical framework of the class Pegano harmalae-Salsoletea vermiculatae Br.-Bl. & O. Bolos 1958, the occurrence of this vegetation in the Italian territory is examined. In Italy, this vegetation is mostly found on clayish or marly substrata, particularly if slightly enriched with nitrates and chlorides. With reference to the Rivas-Martinez bioclimatic classification, the Italian stands have an infra- to thermo-Mediterranean thermotype (marginally up to the meso-Mediterranean one) with dry or arid ombrotype. In particular, this vegetation is well represented in Sicily, while in Sardinia and along the Italian Peninsula, it progressively becomes more rare a…

Allium kyrenium (Amaryllidaceae), a new species from Northern Cyprus.

Allium kyrenium, a new species of Allium sect. Codonoprasum, is described and illustrated from northern Cyprus. It is a very circumscribed geophyte growing on the calcareous cliffs of the Kyrenia range. This diploid species, with a somatic chromosome number 2n = 16, shows close morphological relationships with A. stamineum, a species complex distributed in the eastern Mediterranean area. Its morphology, karyology, leaf anatomy, ecology, conservation status and taxonomical relationships with the allied species belonging to the A. stamineum group are examined.

Il genere Calicotome (Fabaceae) in Sicilia

Vengono riportati i dati sulla distribuzione del genere Calicotome in Sicilia e sulle caratteristiche morfologiche distintive. Sulla base dei caratteri diacritici morfologici e micromorfologici (SEM)sono proposte le chiavi dicotomiche per il riconoscimento delle specie.

Phytophthora Diversity in a Sentinel Arboretum and in a Nature Reserve Area

Most soilborne Phytophthora species are invasive plant pathogens and nursery plants for transplanting are considered a primary pathway for the introduction of exotic Phytophthora species into plant diversity conservation areas and sites. As a preliminary step toward investigating this subject, we compared the diversity of Phytophthora in the protected natural area Complesso Speleologico Villasmundo S. Alfio Nature Reserve (NR) (Melilli, Siracusa) and the botanical garden (BG) of the University of Catania (Catania), in eastern Sicily (southern Italy). Sampling was carried out during the spring of 2019. Overall 29 rhizosphere soil samples were collected, 17 from different types of vegetation …

Database Species-Area Relationships in Palaearctic Grasslands

The Database Species-Area Relationships in Palaearctic Grasslands (GIVD ID EU-00-003) is an initiative of the European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and primarily functions as repository for all data sampled during the EDGG Research Expeditions. During these expeditions two types of highly standardised sampling of dry grassland vegetation in the Palaearctic realm are carried out: (i) nested-plot sampling on squares of 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 m2; (ii) additional normal releves of 10-m2 plots. For all plot sizes, the terricolous vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens are recorded that are superficially present (shoot presence). Additionally, for all 10-m2 plots species cover i…

An inventory of the names of native, non-endemic vascular plants described from Italy, their loci classici and types

The census of the loci classici of 1,227 native, non-endemic vascular plants described from Italy is here presented and described. The effective place of publication of accepted names, basionyms and homotypic synonyms were identified and critically verified. The geographic information on the loci classici was excerpted from the protologues, as well as information on typification for the taxa described before 1 January 1958. The names without a holotype are 1,165. For 591 names a lecto- or neo-typification is available in literature, while 572 currently accepted taxa still need a type designation. For ten of these names showing previous ineffective typification, nomenclatural types are desig…

Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Investigations on Psoralea Acaulis (Psoraleeae: Fabaceae) With the Description of A New Genus Kartalinia

Salmeri, Cristina/0000-0002-5261-590X WOS: 000454161300003 Psoralea acaulis Hoffm. is a very peculiar and taxonomically isolated species of the tribe Psoraleeae, occurring in the Caucasian territories. Currently, this tribe contains 10 distinct genera, well differentiated morphologically. Due to some morphological similarities, P. acaulis was attributed to Bituminaria Heist ex Fabr., a genus with a Mediterranean-Macaronesian distribution. However, as it has many characters, some of which are autapomorphic, it was assigned its own subgenus: Christevenia Barneby ex C. H. Stirt. In light of detailed cladistic and phylogenetic analyses, this arrangement is taxonomically questionable and rather …

Kali dodecanesicum (Chenopodiaceae, Salsoloideae) a new species from Greece

Kali dodecanesicum, a new species from some islands (i.e. Rhodes, Kos and Nisyros) of the Dodecanese in the south-eastern Aegean (Greece), is described and illustrated. According to recent literature, Kali is treated as a distinct genus from the polyphyletic Salsola s.l., which includes several annual species. The new species is morphologically well separated from the other Kali taxa mainly for the shape of the fruiting perianth, showing closer relationships with Kali ponticum. Its ecological requirements, distribution, and conservation status are also examined, together with an analytic key of the Kali species occurring in the Mediterranean area.

A new species of Brassica sect. Brassica (Brassicaceae) from Sicily

Among the suffruticose cabbages of Brassica sect. Brassica, a new species from Sicily, named B. raimondoi, is described and illustrated. It is a chasmophyte restricted to some steep limestone cliffs near Taormina (NE Sicily) and is morphologically related to B. incana, with which it shares densely hairy, broad, amplexicaul leaves and winged petioles, but differs principally in its white corolla, larger floral pieces, more developed stigmatic papillae, shorter siliquae with keeled valves and a smaller, seedless beak, smaller seeds differing in testa microsculpture. A key for the identification of the currently known Sicilian taxa of the section is provided.

Allium therinanthum (Amaryllidaceae), a new species from Israel

Allium therinanthum, a new species of A. sect. Codonoprasum, is described and illustrated from southern Mt. Hermon (Israel). It is a late-flowering diploid species (2n = 16), growing on calcareous substrates of the mountain belt. It is a narrowly distributed geophyte, showing morphological relationships mainly with A. tardiflorum, a typical autumnal species also occurring in Israel within the pinewoods of Mt. Carmel. The morphology, karyology, leaf anatomy, ecology, conservation status and taxonomical relations are examined for both species. A taxonomic comparison with the most allied late flowering species of the sect. Codonoprasum is provided.

New national and regional Annex I Habitat records: from #37 to #44

In this contribution, Italian new data concerning the distribution of the Annex I Habitats 3150, 3170*, 3260, 4090, 91L0, 91M0, 9340 are reported. In detail, 20 new occurrences in Natura 2000 sites are presented and 30 new cells are added in the EEA 10 km × 10 km reference grid. The new data refer to the Italian administrative regions of Campania, Lazio, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany, and Umbria.

Ferula sommieriana (Apiaceae), a new species from Pelagie Islands (Sicily)

Ferula sommieriana, a new species occurring in Lampedusa and Linosa, islands of Pelagie Archipelago in the Sicilian Channel, is described and illustrated. Previously it was attributed to F. communis, from which it differs in several features regarding mainly the morphology and anatomy of terminal leaf lobes and mericarps, as well as the shape and size of reproductive structures. Its ecology, conservation status and relationships with other allied Mediterranean species of the sect. Ferula are provided, as well as the analytical keys of the species belonging to the aforesaid section.

Effects of temperatures on the spatial arrangement in Mediterranean annual dry grasslands

Some preliminary results of diachronic researches on the spatial arrangement and species richness in Mediterranean annual dry grasslands belonging to the class Tuberarietea guttatae are presented. Our results are based on 12 permanent plots, set in three places at different heights in Southern and Central Sardinia. Sites were chosen to have annual species richness and plant density not significantly different. The relationship between patchiness and temporal stability was investigated at the scale of the square plots. We used the mean abundance divided by the SD in abundance (S = xm/r), as the measure of temporal stability of populations (Tilman 1999) and the Shannon-Wiener index to evaluat…

The Italian Loci Classici Census

The orophilous communities of the Pino-Juniperetea class in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean area

Orophilous plant communities of the Pino-Juniperetea class, occurring in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean area, are examined. This vegetation is characterized by the dominance of trees and shrubs, mostly represented by conifers belonging to the genera Juniperus, Abies and Pinus. These communities are nowadays relegated to the supra- and oromediterranean belt, and show a fragmentary distribution, which is an evident proof of their relict connotation. The comparison among these communities, based on original and literature data, has highlighted a remarkable floristic and structural homogeneity, together with a series of geographical vicariances. From the phytosociological point of view, …

Silene crassiuscula (Caryophyllaceae), a new species from Sicily

Silene crassiuscula,, a new species of S. sect. Dipterosperma, is described and illustrated from North-Western Sicily. It is an annual halophyte with succulent growing on carbonatic or calcarenitic rocks of coastal stands. From the morphological point of view , S. crassiuscula appears to be similar to the species belonging to the S. colorata group especially to S. nummica, from Sardinia, from which it differs in several features chiefly regarding the habit, leaves, inflorescences, floral pieces and seed micro-morphology. An analytical key of the taxa belonging to this section is also provided.

Dianthus borbonicus (Caryophyllaceae), a new species from Sicily

Dianthus borbonicus a new species occurring in North-Western Sicily is described and illustrated. It is a rare chasmophyte belonging to the D. sylvestris group, which is exclusive of a rupestrian stand near Rocca Busambra (Ficuzza). Its macro- and micromorphological features (seed testa sculptures, and leaf anatomy), ecology, conservation status and a comparison with the related species are provided too.

Poa jubata (Poaceae), a rare Balkan species, first record for the Italian flora

Abstract Poa jubata A. Kern., an annual South-eastern European species, is reported for the first time from Italy. It is a therophyte linked to temporary ponds with soils flooded during the winter period. It is a very rare and enigmatic species, currently known only from a few localities of the Balkan Peninsula. Recently, it was surveyed in an Apulian wetland, near Brindisi, where it grows with several other annual hygrophytes. For its taxonomical isolation, it is included in a monospecific section, as P. sect. Jubatae. In addition to a detailed description, the chromo-some complement (2n = 14) of this species is examined for the first time and a new iconography is provided.

National vegetation databases: the case of VegItaly.

A new autumn-flowering species of Allium (Alliaceae) from Croatia

Here we describe Allium telmatum Bogdanovic, Brullo, Giusso & Salmeri, a new species of Allium sect. Codonoprasum from North Dalmatia (Croatia). Its chromosome number (2n = 32), karyotype, leaf anatomy, ecology and taxonomical relationships are examined. Several features, such as phenology (flowering in autumn), occurrence in coastal salt marshes, tetraploid chromosome number, and morphology, indicate that it is most closely related to the Tyrrhenian species Allium savii. On the basis of our herbarium survey, we present here a distribution map of the autumn-flowering species of Allium sect. Codonoprasum in the Mediterranean area.

GrassPlot – a database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands

GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (relevés) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001; ... 1,000 m²) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes a…

Limonium poimenum (Plumbaginaceae), a new chasmophyte species from Sicily

Limonium poimenum is here proposed as a new species for Science. It is a very peculiar and extremely localized species, growing on a calcareous mountain of NW Sicily (southern Italy), where it grows on rupestrian places together with many other rare chasmophytic endemics. Iconography, morphological features, ecology and conservation status are provided, as well as a morphological comparison with L. todaroanum.

IDPlanT: the Italian database of plant translocation

IDPlanT is the Italian Database of Plant Translocation, an initiative of the Nature Conservation Working Group of the Italian Botanical Society. IDPlanT currently includes 185 plant translocations. The establishment of a national database on plant translocation is a key step forward in data sharing and techniques improvement in this field of plant conservation. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2021.1985004.

EUNIS Habitat Classification: Expert system, characteristic species combinations and distribution maps of European habitats

Aim The EUNIS Habitat Classification is a widely used reference framework for European habitat types (habitats), but it lacks formal definitions of individual habitats that would enable their unequivocal identification. Our goal was to develop a tool for assigning vegetation-plot records to the habitats of the EUNIS system, use it to classify a European vegetation-plot database, and compile statistically-derived characteristic species combinations and distribution maps for these habitats. Location Europe. Methods We developed the classification expert system EUNIS-ESy, which contains definitions of individual EUNIS habitats based on their species composition and geographic location. Each ha…

Brassica trichocarpa (Brassicaceae), a new species from Sicily

A new species of Brassica from Sicily, namely B. trichocarpa, is described and illustrated. This suffrutex was found on a calcareous peak of a mount near Palermo, where it is represented by a single population occupying a really small surface. It is well differentiated from the other perennial species belonging to B. sect. Brassica mainly in having hairy ovary and very short, thickened, hairy, not torulose fruits. Its relationships and taxonomical position within this group are examined too. An analytical key of the current taxa belonging to the genus Brassica sect. Brassica is also provided. 

Allium nazarenum (Amaryllidaceae), a new species of the section Codonoprasum from Israel

Allium nazarenum, a new species of A. sect. Codonoprasum, is described and illustrated from Israel. Within this species, two well distinct subspecies have been recognized, represented by the subsp. nazarenum and subsp. ramonense respectively. The first one occurs in northern and central Israel, which falls within the Mediterranean bioclimate, while the second one is circumscribed to the Negev desert. Both taxa are diploid with 2n = 16 and are found on various substrata usually in the batha or steppic plant communities. This species shows close relationships with the species belonging to the A. staticiforme group, from which it differs in several relevant diacritic features. Its morphology, …

A new species of Kali (Salsoloideae, Chenopodiaceae) from Sicily, supported by molecular analysis

Nomenclatural and taxonomical considerations on Kali , a controversial genus recently segregated from the polyphyletic Salsola s. lat. ( Chenopodiaceae ), are provided. The Kali group includes annual plants with leaves ending in a spine and lacking hypodermis, having also a cortex alternate to longitudinal chlorenchymatous striae. The species belonging to this genus mainly have a paleotemperate distribution (Europe, Asia and North Africa), occurring as aliens in North America, Australia and South Africa. A new species collected on Mt. Etna (Sicily), and closely related to K. australe , is described and illustrated as K. basalticum Its morphological and molecular features, karyology (2n=54),…

Limonium cophanense (Plumbaginaceae), a new species from Sicily

Limonium cophanense is described and illustrated as a new species from the rocky coast of northwestern Sicily. It is a very rare and localized chamaephyte occurring near the sea on calcarenitic substrate, where it grows together with other halophytes. Its morphology, ecology, conservation status and relationships with the species belonging to the L. bocconei group are also examined.

Floristic and Vegetation Changes on a Small Mediterranean Island over the Last Century

A synthetic and updated overview about the vascular flora and vegetation of the Island of Capo Passero (SE-Sicily) is provided. These data issue from two series of field surveys—the first carried out between 1997 and 2000, and the second between 2005 and 2019 and mostly focused on refining and implementing vegetation data. The current islet’s flora consists of 269 taxa, of which 149 (58%) are annual plants. The Mediterranean species are largely prevailing, 108 (40%) of which have a strictly Mediterranean biogeographical status. The comparison with a species list published in 1919 and updated in 1957 suggest that, despite the overall prevalence of anemochorous taxa, the vertebrate fauna repr…

A survey of the orophilous shrubby vegetation of the Teide (Tenerife, Canary Islands)

A survey about the orophilous shrubby vegetation of the Teide volcano (Tenerife) is provided, based on literature and unpublished data. The investigated communities are dominated by broom-shaped nanophanerophytes, chamaephytes and hemicryptophytes, well adapted to the climatic continentality characterizing their growing-sites, due to the localization above the cloud layer. From the syntaxonomical point of view, in this paper is proposed to refer this vegetation to the class Cytiso-Pinetea canariensis Rivas Goday & Esteve ex Sunding 1972, to the order Spartocytisetalia supranubii Schonfelder & Voggenreiter 1994 and to three alliances: Spartocytision supranubii Oberd. ex Esteve 1973, grouping…

Allium Cithaeronis Bogdanović, C. Brullo, Brullo, Giusso, Musarella & Salmeri (Alliaceae), a New Species from Greece

BOGDANOVIC, S., C. BRULLO, S. BRULLO, G. GIUSSO DEL GALDO, C. M. MUSARELLA & C. SALMERI (2011). Allium cithaeronis Bogdanovic, C. Brullo, Brullo, Giusso, Musarella & Salmeri (Alliaceae), a new species from Greece. Candollea 66: 377-382. In English, English and French abstracts. A new species of Allium sect. Scorodon Koch, Allium cithaeronis Bogdanovic, C. Brullo, Brullo, Giusso, Musarella & Salmeri, is described and illustrated from Greece. Its chromosome number (2n = 16), karyogram, leaf anatomy, ecology, and taxonomical relationships are examined. For some morphological features, such as exserted stamens from perigon and tuberculate lobes in the upper part of the ovary, it represents a ve…

Taxonomic investigations on Psoralea palaestina (Fabaceae), a critical species of Mediterranean flora

Psoralea palaestina is a critical and unappreciated species described from Palestinian territories, and currently treated as synonym of P. bituminosa, nowadays known as Bituminaria bituminosa. Nomenclatural investigations allowed to ascertain that it was validly described for the first time by Bassi (1768) and not by Gouan (1773), as previously thought. Extensive taxonomic investigations revealed that this very peculiar legume is morphologically well differentiated from the other allied known species. Therefore, it has to be properly treated at specific level and transferred to the genus Bituminaria, thus proposing a new combination: Bituminaria palaestina. Based on literature, herbarium an…

IDPlanT: the Italian database of plant translocation

IDPlanT is the Italian Database of Plant Translocation, an initiative of the Nature Conservation Working Group of the Italian Botanical Society. IDPlanT currently includes 185 plant translocations. The establishment of a national database on plant translocation is a key step forward in data sharing and techniques improvement in this field of plant conservation. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2021.1985004 .