Italian Vascular Flora: New Findings, Updates and Exploration of Floristic Similarities between Regions

Abstract

The tradition of floristic studies in Italy has made it possible to obtain a good knowledge of plant diversity both on a national and regional scale. However, the lack of knowledge for some areas, advances in plant systematics and human activities related to globalization, highlight the need for further studies aimed at improving floristic knowledge. In this paper, based on fieldwork and herbaria and literature surveys, we update the knowledge on the Italian vascular flora and analyze the floristic similarities between the administrative regions. Four taxa, all exotic, were recorded for the first time in Italy and Europe. In detail, Elaeodendron croceum, Kalanchoë blossfeldiana, and Sedum spathulifolium var. spathulifolium were found as casual aliens, while Oxalis brasiliensis was reported as historical record based on some herbarium specimens. Furthermore, Kalanchoë laxiflora was confirmed as a casual alien species for Italy and Europe. Status changes for some taxa were proposed at both national and regional levels, as well as many taxa were reported as new or confirmed at the regional level. Currently the Italian vascular flora comprises 9150 taxa of which 7547 are native (of which 1598 are Italian endemics) and 1603 are exotic at the national level. The multivariate analysis of updated floristic data on a regional scale showed a clear distribution along the latitudinal gradient, in accordance with the natural geographical location of the regions in Italy. This pattern of plants distribution was not affected by the introduction of alien species. Despite some taxonomic and methodological issues which are still open, the data obtained confirm the important role of floristic investigations in the field and in herbaria, as well as the collaborative approach among botanists, in order to improve the knowledge of the Italian and European vascular flora.

Calendula arvensis (Vaill.) L.: A Systematic Plant Analysis of the Polar Extracts from Its Organs by UHPLC-HRMS

“…The renewed interest in WEPs is largely due to the growing knowledge of the healthy role of phytochemical compounds, so much so that WEPs can be defined as "functional foods", being a good source of bioactive molecules and dietary supplements [8][9][10]. This is especially true in countries where the native vascular flora is particularly rich, such as Italy [11].…”

Crop Wild Relatives (CWRs) Threatened and Endemic to Italy: Urgent Actions for Protection and Use

“…The geographic distribution of the threatened endemic CWR species in Italy ( Figure 2 ) shows that about half of them grow exclusively in the Sicily region. These data can be justified for the peninsular regions, but we did not find a rational reason for Sardinia, comparable to Sicily for geographical extension, climatic characteristics, and floristic similarities [ 37 ]. Perhaps, the genus Brassica with 13 endemics, of which 9 are exclusive to Sicily, with 5 subspecies of B. villosa , may explain this discrepancy in the data.…”

“…The critical issues to which this species is subjected are grazing, especially goat grazing, which represents a barrier to its spread, and the soil altered by the limestone extraction for the construction of roads. A serious threat can be derived from invasive alien species, which are increasing in Italy [ 37 , 81 ], including Cenchrus setaceus (Forssk.) Morrone (syn.…”

Updated Checklist of Vascular Plants Endemic to Mongolia

“…In Asia, for example, China has the most endemic plants (over 16,000 taxa) [73], followed by Russia (over 2700 taxa) [74], Kazakhstan (over 760 taxa) [75], and South Korea (312 taxa) [76], as well as the Tian-Shan Mountains (871 taxa) belonging to Central Asian countries [77]. While in Europe, for example, Italy (1598 taxa) [78] has the highest endemic taxa, along with Spain (1488 taxa) [79], Greece (1435 taxa) [80], Croatia (349 taxa) [81], Austria (103 taxa) [82] and Czech Republic (82 taxa) [83]. Compared to the above-mentioned studies, the number of endemic plants in Mongolia (102 taxa, ca.…”