Allium ducissae (A. subgen. Polyprason, Amaryllidaceae) a New Species from the Central Apennines (Italy)

Abstract

In this paper, Allium ducissae (the LSID for the name Allium ducissae is: 77254606-1) is described as a new species based on morphological and molecular analyses, and its taxonomic relationships are discussed. It grows in crevices on calcareous rocks, rocky slopes and grassy ledges in the subalpine belt, within two regional protected areas in the Lazio and Abruzzo administrative regions (Central Apennines, Italy). Previously, these populations were attributed to A. strictum, a species described from Siberia, belonging to A. sect. Reticulatobulbosa. The new species is distinct from A. strictum in the morphology of vegetative and reproductive structures. Indeed, it is close to A. palentinum, an endemic species to Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain). Both molecular and morphological data support the recognition of the Allium populations coming from the Central Apennines as a new species. Allium ducissae can be clearly distinguished from A. palentinum by longer and wider tepals, longer filaments, a tooth of inner filament, flower pedicels, spathe appendage, and smaller seeds. Moreover, seed testa micro-sculptures revealed slight differences between A. ducissae and A. palentinum. Chromosome counts showed that A. ducissae is diploid with 2n = 16 chromosomes, as already known for A. palentinum. Molecular analyses support the affiliation of A. ducissae and A. palentinum to A. sect. Falcatifolia, contrary to what is known for the latter species, usually included in A. sect. Daghestanica. Finally, the IUCN assessment for the newly described species is proposed and briefly discussed.

Flower morphology of Allium (Amaryllidaceae) and its systematic significance

“…20 ). In addition, the flower character has been consistently noted to be the most important key characteristics to distinguish species in the genus Allium ( Choi and Oh, 2011 ; Choi et al., 2012 ; Xie et al., 2020c ; Jang et al., 2021 ; Bartolucci et al., 2022 ). In this study, we present several important diagnoses between closely related taxa at the section and subgenus levels.…”

“…The subg. Polyprason belongs to the third evolutionary line, which includes over 50 species and four sections ( Friesen et al., 2006 ; Bartolucci et al., 2022 ). Nine taxa (including one subspecies) belonging to two sections ( Falcatifolia and Oreiprason ) were investigated.…”

“…Allium is characterized by the presence of bulbs enclosed in membranous tunics, flowers with six free, or almost free, tepals, and often a subgynobasic style ( Fritsch and Friesen, 2002 ; Friesen et al., 2006 ; Choi et al., 2011 ; Choi and Oh, 2011 ). Recently, a number of Allium species have been described as new to science based on their morphology (e.g., Armağan, 2021 ; Khan et al., 2021 ), or mixed morphological, including molecular and karyological properties (e.g., Koçyiğit et al., 2016 ; Choi et al., 2019 ; Xie et al., 2020c ; Friesen et al., 2020 , 2022 ; Jang et al., 2021 ; Pandey et al., 2021 ; Bartolucci et al., 2022 ; Khan et al., 2022 ). In general, the major morphological traits used to assess Allium taxonomy include rhizome and bulb tunics, stamens, tepals, and filaments.…”

Herbarium Apenninicum (APP): An Archive of Vascular Plants from Central Italy

“…As partially expressed by the taxonomic research and the geographical distribution of the collected specimens, one of the major interests of the CRFA is to evaluate the distribution of amphi-Adriatic species, their systematic relationships and the possible need to indicate additional features to better distinguish local populations. The APP herbarium is available to provide material for DNA extraction, and this is facilitated by the high proportion of recently collected samples, leaves or other specimen parts have already been sent to various research groups and, thanks to the collaboration developed with some of them, several systematic studies were carried out [21][22][23][24]. Another important aspect of interest is the synergy between herbarium activities, such as collection and management, and the preparation of the updates to checklists of the vascular flora of Italy.…”

The Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Tulbaghia, Allium, Crinum and Cyrtanthus: ‘Talented’ Taxa from the Amaryllidaceae

“…The global garlic production estimates show that out of the 28.5 million tonnes (MT) of A. sativum cultivated, the majority (91.6%; 26.1 MT) were from Asia, followed by Europe (3.0%; 0.86 MT), America (2.9%; 0.83 MT), and with the least from Africa (2.7%; 0.73 MT) [ 112 ]. Bartolucci et al identified A. ducissae , a new breed of Allium that grows in the mountainous regions of the Central Apennines in the Abruzzo and Lazio counties of Italy [ 113 ]. Furthermore, A. strictum , a Eurasian species, is distributed across China, Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia [ 114 , 115 ].…”