0000000000252899
AUTHOR
Ali S. Faqi
From ethnobotany to experimental research: the therapeutic properties of Sicilian hellebore
In Sicily, the genus Helleborus (Ranuculaceae) is only represented by H. bocconei subsp. siculus (= H. bocconei subsp. intermedius). In some mountain areas of the Island, the rhizomes of this plant, harvested in a particular month of the year (May) and dried, are used in traditional veterinary practice for treating pneumonia in domestic animals, cattle and horses in particular. The same usage – with rhizomes of other Helleborus species or subspecies – is reported from various other areas of Mediterranean Europe. Phytochemical tests have permitted the isolation and characterization of new biologically active molecules. The extracts of rhizomes and aerial parts of the plant were shown antibac…
Clinopodium raimondoi (Lamiaceae), a new species from Sicily
On the basis of the taxonomic study of the collections made by F. M. Raimondo, kept in PAL, a new species of Clinopodium is described. The new taxon, named Clinopodium raimondoi, occurs in N-W coast of Sicily on limestone substrata, in steppe communities dominated by Hyparrhenia hirta. The main distinctive characteristics of C. raimondoi, with respect to other taxa known from Europe and other Mediterranean countries, are the large size, the opposite and decussate branches, and the clearly woody at base stems of mature plants as well. Relationships of the new taxon with the Mediterranean ones in the C. nepeta group are also discussed.