Chorispora tenella (Brassicaceae) is reported here as an alien species with an invasive potential in mountain pastoral habitats in Morocco.Illustrations of this and of similar species present in the country are provided, as well as its geographical distribution.
The region of Moulay Driss Zerhoun, located north of the city of Meknes, hosts a remarkable plant diversity.The sampling conducted in 2022, resulted in the inventory of 407 taxa belonging to 257 genera and 67 families.The objective of the present work is to proceed to the floristic analysis of the species list elaborated to facilitate the implementation of conservation strategy of natural heritage.Thus, the overall biological spectrum shows a dominance of therophytes (49.38%) over other life forms.The endemic element is well represented (8.6%).Also, the rare or threatened flora is estimated at 6.63%.The chorological spectrum indicates a significant dominance of Mediterranean species (60%).
Conti, F., Cangelmi, G., Da Valle, J., De Santis, E., Giacanelli, V., Gubellini, L., Hofmann, N., Masin, R. R., Miglio, M., Palermo, D., Santucci, B. & Bartolucci, F.: Additions to the vascular flora of Italy. — Fl. Medit. 33: 177-191. 2023. — ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. In this paper new floristic records for 41 taxa (species and subspecies) are reported. In particular, 30 taxa are natives and 11 aliens. Among the natives 1 is new for Veneto, 7 are new or confirmed for Marche, 1 is new for Lazio, 9 are new or confirmed for Abruzzo, 2 are new or confirmed for Molise; 13 aliens taxa are new for Abruzzo, Lazio and Marche. Some findings are very interesting from a phytogeographic and/or conservation point of view, such as Allium gut-tatum subsp. dalmaticum new for Italy, Astragalus austriacus and Myosotis minutiflora subsp. minutiflora new for the Apennines, and, a species deserving urgent conservation actions, of which we report the second location at national scale. Furthermore, we report some new locations for very rare species.
Notes: hundreds of saplings and young trees are invading clearings, scrublands, wet woodlands, and roadsides in the vicinity of the places where the reforestations were planted.
For the first time, the chromosome number was determined for 5 species of the genus Pyrus L. (Rosaceae) from Armenia, viz.P. daralaghezii, P. hyrcana var.yeghegisi, P. medvedevii, P. oxiprion, P. takhtadzhianii, and the previous count of chromosome number for P. caucasica was confirmed.All the explored species have a diploid chromosome number 2n = 34 with the basic chromosome number x = 17.
New records of alien plants escaped from cultivation in Algeria.-In this contribution are reported three vascular species new to the alien flora of Algeria and continental North Africa, reported outside the cultures in the Skikda region (northeastern Algeria).Duranta erecta and Justicia adhatoda are considered casual, Tecomaria capensis is considered naturalized.The latter is established in a relic of a maquis of Quercus suber and shows a significant potential for more spreading.Thus, T. capensis should be monitored to prevent a prompt potential invasiveness in Algeria.
A. ratundifolia are neo-or lectotypified on specimens preserved at FI or
Raimondo, F. M., Venturella, G. & Domina, G.: Pyrus pedrottiana ( Rosaceae ), a new species from the Nebrodi Mountains (N-E Sicily). — Fl. Medit. 32: 25-34. 2022. — ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. A new species of Pyrus for the dendroflora of Sicily is here described. It is Pyrus pedrottiana , actually considered endemic to the Nebrodi Mountains, a territory which includes the largest wooded area of the island with a high forest biodiversity.In the same area, P. vallis-demonis and P. ciancioi have also been described in recent times. The authors report diagnostic characters to distinguish the new taxon from the other two sympatric species.
Matevski, V., Kostadinovski, M., Ćušterevska, R., Cvetkoska, C., Cvetanoska, S. & Ivanova, A.: New records of some vascular plants for the flora of North Macedonia. — Fl. Medit. 32: 131-141. 2022. — ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. This paper presents new data on the distribution of 10 vascular plant species from the territory of North Macedonia.Three species ( Erysimum cheiri , Iberis umbellata and Silene squamigera ) are listed for the first time for the flora of North Macedonia, while the other 7 rare species ( Chaenorhinum rubrifolium , Crepis zacintha , Galatella linosyris , Geranium versicolor , Glinus lotoides , Limosella aquatica and Polygonatum verticillatum ) are registered at several new localities on its territory.
Charalampidou, C., Eleftheriadou, E. & Theodoropoulos, K.: The vascular flora of damp meadows and mires in W Rhodopi (NE Greece). — Fl. Medit. 32: 79-98. 2022. — ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. The plant diversity of damp meadows and mires occurring in the Greek part of Rhodopi Mountain Range, at an elevation of above 1000 m, was investigated. The vascular flora of the investigated area consists of 340 taxa, which belong to 175 genera and 58 families. Seven taxa of vascular plants were recorded for the first time for the floristic region of North-East Greece. The most species-rich families are Poaceae , Rosaceae , Asteraceae , Cyperaceae , Lamiaceae , Fabaceae and Juncaceae , whereas 20 families contribute with only one taxon. The most species-rich genera are Carex , Juncus and Ranunculus , and 103 genera have only one taxon. Most of them are hemicryptophytes (203 taxa), followed by therophytes (51 taxa), geophytes (45 taxa), phanerophytes (27 taxa) and chamaephytes (14 taxa). The high percentage of hemicryptophytes reflects the continental character of the flora. The majority of the taxa (228 taxa) are Widespread (76 taxa Europaean-SW Asian, 53 taxa Euro-Siberian, 37 taxa European etc.), followed by the Mediterranean unit with 57 taxa (24 taxa Mediterranean, 22 taxa Mediterranean-European, etc.) and the Balkan unit with 53 taxa (31 taxa Balkan, 17 taxa Balkan-Anatolian, etc.).
Müller-Kiefer, J. & Tomasello, S.: Invasive or threatened? The decline of the old-world Xanthium strumarium ( Asteraceae ) in Italy based on herbarium records. — Fl. Medit. 32: 17-24. 2022. — ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. Xanthium is a taxonomically intricate genus of the sunflower family ( Asteraceae ). In Italy, two species of Xanthium sect. Xanthium are present: the native X. strumarium and then introduced X. orientale . In this study, we assess changes in relative frequency of these two species in Italy based on herbarium records. Based on our analyses, we could observe a strong decline of the native X. strumarium in Italy, started approximately one hundred years ago. Since then, this species has become extremely rare and more effort should be spent to investigate its actual distribution range and potential extinction risk in Italy. This study also demonstrates the importance of herbaria to address ques-tions regarding the dynamics in relative frequency and distribution of competing native and introduced species.
Erben, M., Christodoulou, C. S., Hand, R. & Kefalas, K.: Limonium ammochostianum , L. karpasiticum and L. paralimniticum ( Plumbaginaceae ), three new endemic species from the eastern part of Cyprus. — Fl. Medit. 32: 35-45. 2022. — ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. Limonium ammochostianum , L. karpasiticum and L. paralimniticum ( Plumbaginaceae ) are described as new to science. The former species was long time known in Cyprus under the mis-applied name L. ocymifolium subsp. bellidifolium . The three species occur in a few coastal stretches in the east of the island. The new taxa show strong morphological similarities and can be considered as segregates of a L. ammochostianum species group. All hitherto known populations of the species group make up about 6000 individuals. L. ammochostianum and L. paralimniticum should be classified as “Endangered”, whereas L. karpasiticum as a “Data Deficient” taxon.
Cambria, S., Giusso del Galdo, G., Minissale, P., Sciandrello, S. & Tavilla, G.: Lablab purpureus ( Fabaceae ), a new alien species for Sicily. — Fl. Medit. 32: 73-78. 2022. — ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. Lablab purpureus ( Fabaceae ) is a species native to tropical Africa, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. We report the occurrence of this species for the first time in Sicily, close to the town of Palermo. The population seems to be well estab-lished and takes part to a sub-nitrophilous vegetation dominated by Oloptum miliaceum , representing the first case of naturalization of this species in Italy.
In-situ conservation is considered the best way to preserve biodiversity where multiple species can persist with all their natural ecological interactions.The latter element is often ignored.Criticalities can arise when ex-situ grown plants are translocated in-situ without their natural soil microbial associations, especially where abiotic stresses can be severe.Mycorrhizal Fungi (MF) provide several benefits to plants and ecosystem in which are present.The aim of the project was to investigate the use of indigenous MF to enhance acclimatization and survival of exsitu grown plants translocated for habitat restoration.The seeds of Pinus halepensis Mill.as well as sporocarps of naturally associated indigenous MF Suillus collinitus (Fr.)Kuntze (1898), were collected from Natura 2000 sites in the Maltese Islands.P. halepensis seeds were germinated under greenhouse conditions.S. collinitus was inoculated at sowing and seedling stage by placing fragments of the ripe sporocarps in the P. halepensis seedling trays.All the mycorrhized plantlets produced have been reintroduced into selected area of Natura 2000 in the Maltese Islands as part of SiMaSeed restoration project.Such MF inoculation actions can help to enhance restoration and resilience of habitats to reduce biodiversity loss.
The recent increase in the known richness of Limonium in Tunisia, mainly due to the description of 25 new endemic species in the last decades, has made the only existing identification key for the country obsolete.Based on an exhaustive review of the literature dealing with Limonium from Tunisia, consultation of herbarium specimens preserved in Tunisia and Sicily, and a number of new collections, we propose here a new complete key, accompanied by an updated mapping for all taxa.The obtained results reveal that most Tunisian Limonium are perennial herbs (81 %), halophytes (79 %), endemic to the country (61 %), and mainly distributed along coasts and around chotts.A significant number of taxa (51 %) present important conservation issues, mainly related to microendemism (especially on islands and peninsulas) and to the alarming acceleration of habitat degradation.Djerba Island is currently the subject of a project involving local authorities, residents and environmental protection associations aimed at conserving the microendemic Limonium formosum, whose only location is threatened in the short term by a project to turn it into a tourist attraction.
The results of a comparative study of the quantitative data of the IUCN risk categories attributed to the endemic taxa of the Sicilian vascular flora are reported.430 Sicilian strictly endemic taxa has been evaluated by comparing the data of the risk categories attributed by published sources.400 taxa have received at least one assessment of their conservation status, 30 taxa have not yet been considered.278 received an assessment of their conservation status in accordance with the IUCN criteria, while the remaining 152 have not yet been evaluated according to these criteria.
Plant growth under stress conditions depends on the effectiveness of tolerance mechanisms in each species.The strategy of conducting comparative studies on genetically related taxa with different degrees of tolerance is a valuable approach, especially for distinguishing tolerance-relevant responses.The results may help design and implement conservation, reinforcement or reintroduction programmes and manage threatened populations of such rare and endemic species in the area of interest, the Albufera Natural Park.
This is the fourth issue of the series of germination reports from Mediterranean areas (sensu Med-Checklist
This work aims to study the seed germination capacity for Centaurea tenoreana (Asteraceae).This species is narrowly endemic to the territory of the Maiella National Park, in Abruzzo (Italy).The species did not show dormancy, and excellent germination results were obtained at constant temperatures both in the dark and in the light.The highest germination value (98.95%) was obtained by sowing the cypselas on 1% agar and then incubating at a constant temperature of 15°C with a light-dark photoperiod of 12/12 hours.The records of the first germination are provided for the taxon investigated.
