This is the seventeenth of a series of miscellaneous contributions, by various authors, where hitherto unpublished data relevant to both the Med-Checklist and the Euro+Med (or Sisyphus) projects are presented. This instalment deals with the families Aizoaceae, Anacardiaceae, Asparagaceae, Bignoniaceae, Boraginaceae, Cannabaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Casuarinaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Compositae, Crassulaceae, Cyperaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Gentianaceae, Gramineae, Iridaceae, Labiatae, Leguminosae, Malvaceae, Myrtaceae, Oleaceae, Onagraceae, Orobanchaceae, Oxalidaceae, Papaveraceae, Portulacaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae, Sapindaceae, Sapotaceae, Solanaceae, Typhaceae, Violaceae and Vitaceae. It includes new country and area records and taxonomic and distributional considerations for taxa in Acer, Ampelopsis, Argania, Blackstonia, Buglossoides, Carduus, Carex, Casuarina, Celtis, Chenopodium, Clematis, Eleusine, Elytrigia, Eucalyptus, Euphorbia, Euphrasia, Fraxinus, Galium, Hibiscus, Hieracium, Iris, Koelreuteria, Lathyrus, Loeflingia, Ludwigia, Malus, Melampyrum, Mesembryanthemum, Muscari, Orobanche, Oxalis, Papaver, Physalis, Podranea, Portulaca, Pseudodictamnus, Pulmonaria, Ranunculus, Schinus, Sedum, Stachys, Typha, Viola and Vitis, and a new combination in Pseudodictamnus.
Book details: Fischer E. & Müller K.: Syllabus of plant families. Adolf Engler's Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien. 13th edition by Wolfgang Frey. Part 5/1. Magnoliopsida (Angiosperms) p.p.: subclass Magnoliidae p.p.: Lilianae p.p. (Arecales to Zingiberales), Ceratophyllanae, subclass Rosidae p.p. (Ranunculanae to Berberidopsidanae). – Stuttgart: Borntraeger Science Publishers, 2022. – ISBN 978-3-443-01173-4. – Hardback, 18 × 25 cm, 1570 g, xii + 671 pages, 128 mostly coloured plates, language: English. – Price: EUR 219. – Available from https://www.schweizerbart.de/ Citation: Raus Th. 2023: Book review: Syllabus of plant families. Adolf Engler's Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien. 13th edition by Wolfgang Frey. Part 5/1. – Willdenowia 53: 79–81. Version of record first published online on 9 May 2023 ahead of inclusion in April 2023 issue.
Biological invasions are one of the main threats to biodiversity, but they also offer insights on different ecological processes, as highlighted by the hypotheses posited to explain the phenomenon. We explore the relative importance of different hypotheses using biotic (native diversity) and abiotic factors (climate and landscape configuration) as proxies driving the spatial pattern of alien plant biodiversity in Greece. The strongest predictor of alien species richness is native species richness. Landscape heterogeneity boosts this relationship, but native and alien species prefer different conditions. Landscape composition and configuration explain more of the variance of alien diversity than of native diversity, with native diversity increasing at more naturally vegetated areas and alien diversity at agricultural lands. Climate is associated more strongly with native diversity than with alien diversity, with native diversity increasing in colder regions and alien diversity in warmer regions. The transportation network was associated with higher alien species richness but not with native species richness, highlighting the importance of propagule/colonization pressure. These differences might indicate that aliens occupy part of the niche space that is not preferred by the natives and thus allow us to speculate on the role of limiting similarity as a driving force.
Aims : To develop a consistent ecological indicator value system for Europe for five of the main plant niche dimensions: soil moisture (M), soil nitrogen (N), soil reaction (R), light (L) and temperature (T). Study area : Europe (and closely adjacent regions). Methods : We identified 31 indicator value systems for vascular plants in Europe that contained assessments on at least one of the five aforementioned niche dimensions. We rescaled the indicator values of each dimension to a continuous scale, in which 0 represents the minimum and 10 the maximum value present in Europe. Taxon names were harmonised to the Euro+Med Plantbase. For each of the five dimensions, we calculated European values for niche position and niche width by combining the values from the individual EIV systems. Using T values as an example, we externally validated our European indicator values against the median of bioclimatic conditions for global occurrence data of the taxa. Results : In total, we derived European indicator values of niche position and niche width for 14,835 taxa (14,714 for M, 13,748 for N, 14,254 for R, 14,054 for L, 14,496 for T). Relating the obtained values for temperature niche position to the bioclimatic data of species yielded a higher correlation than any of the original EIV systems ( r = 0.859). The database : The newly developed Ecological Indicator Values for Europe (EIVE) 1.0, together with all source systems, is available in a flexible, harmonised open access database. Conclusions : EIVE is the most comprehensive ecological indicator value system for European vascular plants to date. The uniform interval scales for niche position and niche width provide new possibilities for ecological and macroecological analyses of vegetation patterns. The developed workflow and documentation will facilitate the future release of updated and expanded versions of EIVE, which may for example include the addition of further taxonomic groups, additional niche dimensions, external validation or regionalisation. Abbreviations : EIV = Ecological indicator value; EIVE = Ecological Indicator Values for Europe; EVA = European Vegetation Archive; GBIF = Global Biodiversity Information Facility; i = index for taxa; j = index for EIV systems; L = ecological indicator for light; M = ecological indicator for moisture; N = ecological indicator for nitrogen availability; R = ecological indicator for reaction; T = ecological indicator for temperature.
This is the fifteenth of a series of miscellaneous contributions, by various authors, where hitherto unpublished data relevant to both the Med-Checklist and the Euro+Med (or Sisyphus) projects are presented. This instalment deals with the families Amaranthaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Cactaceae, Campanulaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Compositae, Cyperaceae, Dipsacaceae, Leguminosae, Lentibulariaceae, Molluginaceae, Montiaceae, Onagraceae, Orobanchaceae, Pinaceae, Plantaginaceae, Polygalaceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae, Umbelliferae and Violaceae. It includes new country and area records and taxonomic and distributional considerations for taxa in Acacia, Amaranthus, Bupleurum, Campanula, Carex, Claytonia, Dysphania, Epilobium, Erigeron, Galium, Gelasia, Hieracium, Lathyrus, Lomelosia, Lonicera, Mollugo, Nothoscordum, Opuntia, Orobanche, Picea, Plantago, Polycarpon, Polygala, Rubus, Scorzoneroides, Utricularia, Veronica, Vicia and Viola, and a correction to a previous notula for Trifolium pachycalyx in Greece.
The heterotypic synonyms Verbascum limnense and Celsia tomentosa are neotypified and lectotypified, respectively, and their nomenclature is clarified. The former binomial represents the correct name at species rank for a range-restricted, paleoendemic plant confined to Central Greece. Furthermore, the new nothospecies Verbascum × sipiadense, representing the hybrid formula V. limnense × V. sinuatum, is described from the island of Evvia (Euboea).
The history and progress of floristic knowledge on Amaranthaceae occurring in Greece and adjacent Balkan countries are briefly outlined and changes in family circumscription and generic delimitation are addressed. The new combinations Amaranthus blitoides [var. blitoides] f. thellungii (Sennen ex Thell.) Raus and A. blitoides [var. reverchonii] f. densifolius (Uline & W. L. Bray) Raus are published. The names Achyranthes argentea Lam. and Amaranthus commutatus A. Kern. ex Hayek are lectotypified, the former a synonym of Achyranthes sicula (L.) All, the latter of Amaranthus blitum L. Amaranthus commutatus A. Kern. has long been known as a designation with no nomenclatural value for a fictitious taxon but is still erroneously accepted in current floristic online sources.
Human-induced climate- and land-use change have been affecting biogeographical and biodiversity patterns for the past two centuries all over the globe, resulting in increased extinction and biotic homogenization rates. High mountain ecosystems are more sensitive to these changes, which have led to physiological and phenological shifts, as well as to ecosystem processes’ deformation. Glacial relicts, such as arctic-alpine taxa, are sensitive indicators of the effects of global warming and their rear-edge populations could include warm-adapted genotypes that might prove—conservation-wise—useful in an era of unprecedented climate regimes. Despite the ongoing thermophilization in European and Mediterranean summits, it still remains unknown how past and future climate-change might affect the distributional patterns of the glacial relict, arctic-alpine taxa occurring in Greece, their European southernmost distributional limit. Using species distribution models, we investigated the impacts of past and future climate changes on the arctic-alpine taxa occurring in Greece and identified the areas comprising arctic-alpine biodiversity hotspots in Greece. Most of these species will be faced with severe range reductions in the near future, despite their innate resilience to a multitude of threats, while the species richness hotspots will experience both altitudinal and latitudinal shifts. Being long-lived perennials means that there might be an extinction-debt present in these taxa, and a prolonged stability phase could be masking the deleterious effects of climate change on them. Several ex situ conservation measures (e.g., seed collection, population augmentation) should be taken to preserve the southernmost populations of these rare arctic-alpine taxa and a better understanding of their population genetics is urgently needed.
Abstract: This is the thirteenth of a series of miscellaneous contributions, by various authors, where hitherto unpublished data relevant to both the Med-Checklist and the Euro+Med (or Sisyphus) projects are presented. This instalment deals with the families Amaryllidaceae (incl. Alliaceae), Apocynaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Compositae, Crassulaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Gramineae, Hydrocharitaceae, Iridaceae, Labiatae, Liliaceae, Malvaceae, Meliaceae, Myrtaceae, Orobanchaceae, Oxalidaceae, Papaveraceae, Pittosporaceae, Primulaceae (incl. Myrsinaceae), Ranunculaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rubiaceae, Solanaceae and Umbelliferae. It includes new country and area records and taxonomic and distributional considerations for taxa in Allium, Anthemis, Atriplex, Centaurea, Chasmanthe, Chenopodium, Delphinium, Digitaria, Elodea, Erigeron, Eucalyptus, Hypecoum, Leptorhabdos, Luffa, Malvaviscus, Melia, Melica, Momordica, Nerium, Oxalis, Pastinaca, Phelipanche, Physalis, Pittosporum, Salvia, Scorzoneroides, Sedum, Sesleria, Silene, Spartina, Stipa, Tulipa and Ziziphus, new combinations in Cyanus, Lysimachia, Rhaponticoides and Thliphthisa, and the reassessment of a replacement name in Sempervivum. Citation For the whole article: Raab-Straube E. von & Raus Th. (ed.) 2021: Euro+Med-Checklist Notulae, 13 [Notulae ad floram euro-mediterraneam pertinentes No. 42]. – Willdenowia 51: 141–168. For a single contribution (example): Kunev G. 2021: Allium melanogyne Greuter. – Pp. 142–143 in: Raab-Straube E. von & Raus Th. (ed.), Euro+Med-Checklist Notulae, 13 [Notulae ad floram euro-mediterraneam pertinentes No. 42]. – Willdenowia 51: 141–168. Version of record first published online on 30 April 2021 ahead of inclusion in April 2021 issue.
Citation: Lack H. W. & Raus Th. 2020: Bernhard Zepernick (1926–2019). – Willdenowia 50: 165–171. doi: https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50202Version of record first published online on 24 April 2020 ahead of inclusion in August 2020 issue.
The Aegean archipelago has long been the main research area of numerous biogeographers, plant ecologists and taxonomists due to its intricate palaeogeography and high environmental and topographical heterogeneity. Nevertheless, some parts of this archipelago are essentially unexplored and the processes driving spatial variation in species composition remain unaddressed. Aiming to fill these gaps, we investigated the flora and plant diversity patterns of the Northern Sporades island group, as well as its biogeographical relationships. The study area lies in the biogeographical region of the West Aegean islands and comprises 23 islands and islets. The total flora of the study area consists of 1202 infrageneric taxa, belonging to 517 genera and 120 families, reflecting its geographical and bioclimatic characteristics. The endemic element consists of 41 taxa (3.4% of the flora), eight of which are restricted to the West Aegean islands and two are single island endemics. Area emerged as the most important variable in shaping plant species richness, while niche-based processes played a lesser role in driving these patterns. Regarding the taxonomic and phylogenetic beta-diversity patterns, environmental filtering and not dispersal limitation seems to shape the plant assemblages of the Northern Sporades islets. Biogeographically, the Northern Sporades island group seems to be closer connected to the Kiklades rather than to Evvia or the adjacent mainland, due to their longer isolation and separate palaeogeographical history during the Quaternary.
During our floristic studies in southern Peloponnesus (Greece), specimens of a chasmophytic Campanula with an uncommon pinnatifid foliage were observed on the walls of the Kelefa fortress on the Mani Peninsula. After detailed morphological comparisons with comprehensive material of C. sect. Quinqueloculares from southern Greece, we identified the species as C. kamariana, a recently described endemic of Peloponnesus. Our morphological analysis of specimens collected from the Kelefa fortress revealed some deviations from the original description of the taxon. Therefore, here we provide an amended description of C. kamariana based on newly collected specimens and information on two additional localities where this local endemic occurs.
This is the twelfth of a series of miscellaneous contributions, by various authors, where hitherto unpublished data relevant to both the Med-Checklist and the Euro+Med (or Sisyphus) projects are presented. This instalment deals with the families Asparagaceae (incl. Hyacinthaceae), Boraginaceae, Cactaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Compositae, Crassulaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Gramineae, Haloragaceae, Iridaceae, Labiatae, Leguminosae, Malvaceae, Orchidaceae, Orobanchaceae, Plumbaginaceae, Polygonaceae, Rosaceae, Scrophulariaceae (incl. Buddlejaceae), Solanaceae and Umbellrerae. It includes new country and area records and taxonomic and distributional considerations for taxa in Abutilon, Aegilops, Amelanchier, Andryala, Aruncus, Asparagus, Bellevalia, Brugmansia, Buglossoides, Bupleurum, Cortaderia, Crassula, Datura, Dysphania, Euphorbia, Fallopia, Iris, Lycianthes, Myriophyllum, Nicodemia, Onobrychis, Ophrys, Opuntia, Orobanche, Phelipanche, Plumbago, Salvia, Silene, Stellaria and Wisteria, and new combinations in Amelanchier and Phelipanche.
Greece, as one of the European biodiversity hotspots, is long since in the focus of botanical investigations. Among historical researchers significantly contributing to the floristic and taxonomic exploration was Eugen von Halácsy, a Viennese physician and botanist. He was the first and so far last author of a complete Greek flora, the Conspectus Florae Graecae, and has compiled a seminal herbarium collection of plant specimens originating from Greece. This Herbarium Graecum of approx. 26,000 vouchers, is today held by the Herbarium of the University of Vienna (WU). Investigations for original material in this collection yielded a total of 1,439 (approx. 5.5 %) vouchers. The current type status was checked for the entire material, the vouchers were databased, photographed and geo-referenced, and the data are made publicly available here. These results are presented in an annotated catalogue including 19 lectotypifications, in order to contribute to the still extremely active field of plant biodiversity research in Greece.
Allium oreohellenicum Tzanoud., Tsakiri & Raus (Amaryllidaceae), endemic of the Greek mountains, is described and illustrated as a species new to science. Information regarding its cytology, geographical distribution and taxonomic relationships is also provided. Material belonging to A. oreohellenicum was formerly known/classified as A. achaium Boiss & Orph., a taxon described in 1882 based on a gathering by Orphanides from Mt Klokos (N Peloponnisos, Greece). A detailed study of the Orphanides gathering concerned revealed that it essentially belongs to A. frigidum Boiss. & Heldr., a taxon described 28 years earlier, and so the need for a new name.Citation: Tzanoudakis D., Tsakiri M. & Raus Th. 2019: What is Allium achaium Boiss. & Orph.? Disentangling the taxonomy of a Greek mountain species. – Willdenowia 49: 231–239. doi: https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.49.49211Version of record first published online on 20 August 2019 ahead of inclusion in August 2019 issue.