Cassini's Compositae genera: A nomenclatural and taxonomic assessment

Work on the Global Compositae Checklist has highlighted uncertainties and errors in the nomenclatural parameters of many genera and subgenera described by Henri Cassini. Problems concern rank (subgenus vs. genus); type designation; correct place of valid publication; alternative names; and other miscellaneous issues. An annotated list with correct nomenclatural information for 391 generic names or designations is provided, including types (newly designated here for 17 names) and one new combination (Gyptis tanacetifolia). The current taxonomic disposition of Cassini's genera and the accepted names for the listed typonyms are consistently mentioned. The familiar names Felicia and Chrysopsis, already conserved, are threatened by unlisted earlier synonyms, and currently used Fulcaldea turns out to be illegitimate. Proposals to deal with these problems by conservation are being presented separatel

OPTIMA Newsletter

OPTIMA Newsletter is a news journal for the presentation and discussion of issues pertinent to Mediterranean botany, published by the Secretariat of the Organization for the Phyto-Taxonomic Investigation of the Mediterranean Area

Checklist of the vascular plants collected during the 12th “Iter Mediterraneum” in Tunisia, 24 March – 4 April 2014

The vascular plants (plus one alga) collected during Iter Mediterraneum XII of OPTIMA in North Tunisia have been studied. In all, 1374 gatherings were made from 43 localities in the “Cap Bon” region, “Dorsale Tunisienne”, “Tunisie du Nord-Est”, “Vallée de la Medjedah”, “Mogods” and “Kroumirie” areas. They belong to 82 families and 539 species or subspecies. Three taxa are new for the flora of Tunisia (Cerastium diffusum subsp. gussonei, Senecio leucanthemifolius subsp. mauritanicus, and Ulmus minor subsp. canescens), 7 represent new records for the “Kroumirie”, 15 for the “Mogods”, 3 for the “Tunisie du Nord-Est”, 2 for the “Dorsale Tunisienne”, and 8 for “Cap Bon

A conspectus of and key to greek isoetes (Isoetaceae), based on a reassessment of haussknecht\u2019s gatherings of 1885

The three Isoetes species recorded from Thessalia (Thessaly) in N Greece by Haussknecht, in 1899, under the names I. setacea, I. heldreichii, and I. phrygia, were reassessed using megaspore and microspore ornamentation in addition to macromorphological features. \u201cIsoetes setacea\u201d is not the SW European I. delilei to which the name I. setacea was generally misapplied, nor \u201cI. echinospora\u201d as it has been called due to a misunderstanding, but a so far undescribed species here named I. haussknechtii; it has not been found again in Haussknecht\u2019s locality but has recently turned up in Peloponnisos and the E Aegean Islands. I. heldreichii, described from Haussknecht\u2019s gathering, is apparently extinct. The record of I. phrygia was based on misidentified I. gymnocarpa. Even so, contrary to prevailing opinion, Haussknecht was justified in raising Boissier\u2019s I. histrix var. phrygia to specific rank; genuine I. phrygia has recently been discovered in Kriti (Crete). The inventory of Greek Isoetes now comprises seven species, of which I. phrygia and I. todaroana are newly recorded here. Greek specimens studied are cited for all of them, and a key for their identification is presented. The names I. heldreichii and I. phrygia are typified

Flora Mediterranea

This peer-reviewed journal, published annually on behalf of OPTIMA, includes papers dealing with the study of biogeography, floristics and systematic botany in the Mediterranean area

Optical structure and function of the white filamentary hair covering the edelweiss bracts

The optical properties of the inflorescence of the high-altitude ''Leontopodium nivale'' subsp. ''alpinum'' (edelweiss) is investigated, in relation with its submicrometer structure, as determined by scanning electron microscopy. The filaments forming the hair layer have been found to exhibit an internal structure which may be one of the few examples of a photonic structure found in a plant. Measurements of light transmission through a self-supported layer of hair pads taken from the bracts supports the idea that the wooly layer covering the plant absorbs near-ultraviolet radiation before it reaches the cellular tissue. Calculations based on a photonic-crystal model provides insight on the way radiation can be absorbed by the filamentary threads.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures. Published pape

On the presence, distribution and conservation status of Lycopodium lagopus (Lycopodiaceae) in Italy

During our work on the Lycopodiaceae account for the upcoming Flora Critica d\u2019Italia (1, 2), we assessed and accepted the presence in Italy of Lycopodium lagopus (Laest. ex Hartm.) Zinserl. ex Kuzen. = L. clavatum subsp. monostachyon (Grev. & Hook.) Selander (2). Already reported by Fiori (3) as L. clavatum f. monostachyum Desv., its presence in Italy was more recently confirmed by Tribsch & Sch\uf6nswetter (4) and accepted in some subsequent regional works (e.g. 5, 6), but the taxon is not recognized as distinct in the last national checklist of vascular plants (7). Lycopodium lagopus has an arctic-alpine distribution in America and Eurasia (8, 9). Initially described as a variety of L. clavatum L., the taxon was later raised to subspecific (e.g. 10, 11) and specific rank (8, 9). In view of its largely sympatric occurrence with L. clavatum in the Alps, and of the apparent absence of intermediate populations or individuals, we prefer to treat L. lagopus as a separate species. The main characters distinguishing L. lagopus from L. clavatum are the number of strobili (usually 1, rarely 2), and especially their being sessile or subsessile on a 0-2 cm long \u201cpeduncle\u201d. In the Italian Alps it usually occurs at >1800 m a.s.l. As a result of our revision of specimens in several Italian herbaria, this clubmoss, formerly known only from Trentino - Alto Adige and Lombardy, is here reported for the first time for Piedmont on the basis of two specimens collected by Carestia in Valsesia in 1870 and preserved in TO. The presence in Friuli - Venezia Giulia (reported in 6 on the basis of a posthumous work of Gortani) is not confirmed: a specimen collected by Gortani in 1908 and preserved in MFU under \u201cL. clavatum f. monostachyum Desv.\u201d is referable to L. clavatum. On the other hand, in view of the specie\u2019s ecology and confirmed distribution, one may reasonably expect that it is to be found, additionally, in Val d\u2019Aosta and Veneto. Lycopodium species in Europe have experienced a decline in abundance in a general way, partly due to their being collected and overexploited, and for this reason they have all been included in Annex V of the Habitats Directive 92/43/CEE. Lycopodium clavatum in particular, whose decline in Italy is confirmed by several authors (e.g., 6), is also included in Annex D of the Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulation their trade. It is therefore urgent to define the current distribution and conservation status of L. lagopus in Italy, in order to plan possible conservation measures. We hope that its inclusion (as L. clavatum subsp. monostachyum) in the most recent Red List of Italian Flora (12), even if only as DD (Data Deficient), and the contribution here presented may stimulate the study of this species in Italy. This study is part of the \u201cFlora Critica d\u2019Italia\u201d project and as such was funded by the Societ\ue0 Botanica Italiana onlus, the Fondazione per la Flora Italiana, and the International Foundation Pro Herbario Mediterraneo. 1) L. Pignotti (ed) (2006) Progetto per una Flora critica dell\u2019Italia. Societ\ue0 Botanica Italiana, Firenze 2) A. Troia, W. Greuter (2013) Proceedings of XIV OPTIMA Meeting, Palermo, 9-15 September 2013, p. 151 3) A. Fiori (1943) Flora Italica Cryptogama, pars V: Pteridophyta. Tipografia Mariano Ricci, Firenze 4) A. Tribsch, Sch\uf6nswetter P. (1999) Verh. Zool.-Bot. Ges. 6sterreich, 136, 235-248 5) D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, D.M. Moser, J.P. Theurillat (2004) Flora Alpina. Haupt Verlag, Bern 6) E. Bona (ed), F. Martini, H. Niklfeld, F. Prosser (2005) Atlante corologico delle Pteridofite nell\u2019Italia nordorientale. Distribution Atlas of the Pteridophytes of North-Eastern Italy. Museo Civico di Rovereto, Edizioni Osiride 7) F. Conti, G. Abbate, A. Alessandrini, C. Blasi (eds) (2005) An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora. Palombi Editori, Roma 8) W.H. Wagner, J. Beitel (1993) Lycopodiaceae. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (eds) Flora of North America Vol. 2 Pteridophytes & Gymnosperms. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 18-37 9) F.J. Rumsey (2007) Watsonia, 26, 477-480 10) W. Rothmaler, A.C. Jermy (1993) Lycopodium L. In: T.G. Tutin et al. (eds), Flora europaea vol. 1, ed. 2. Cambridge, p. 4 11) I. Kukkonen (2000) Lycopodiaceae. In: B. Jonsell (ed) Flora Nordica 1. The Bergius Foundation, Stockholm, pp. 1-13 12) G. Rossi et al. (2013) Lista Rossa della Flora Italiana. 1. Policy Species e altre specie minacciate. Comitato Italiano IUCN e Ministero dell\u2019Ambiente e delle Tutela del Territorio e del Mar