Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 11

In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi, and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte genera Aneura, Aulacomnium, Dumortiera, Fossombronia, Hennediella, Hygrohypnella, Pohlia, Porella, Riccardia, Tortella, and Tortula, the fungal genera Cortinarius, Mycena, Naucoria, Trichoglossum, and Tubaria and the lichen genera Agonimia, Blastenia, Chaenotheca, Cladonia, Endocarpon, Gyalecta, Lecanographa, Parmeliella, Porpidia, Stenhammarella, and Thelidium

Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 14

In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the algal genus Chara, for the bryophyte genera Bryum, Grimmia, Cephaloziella, Hypnum, Nogopterium, Physcomitrium, Polytrichastrum, Rhynchostegiella, Saelania, and Schistostega, the fungal genera Cortinarius, Lentinellus, Omphalina, and Xerophorus, and the lichen genera Acarospora, Agonimia, Candelariella, Cladonia, Graphis, Gyalolechia, Hypogymnia, Lichinella, Megalaria, Nephroma, Ochrolechia, Opegrapha, Peltigera, Placidium, Ramalina, Rhizoplaca, Ropalospora, Strangospora, Toniniopsis, Usnea, and Zahlbrucknerell

Notulae to the Italian native vascular flora: 8

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of native vascular flora in Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes to the Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Ajuga, Chamaemelum, Clematis, Convolvulus, Cytisus, Deschampsia, Eleocharis, Epipactis, Euphorbia, Groenlandia, Hedera, Hieracium, Hydrocharis, Jacobaea, Juncus, Klasea, Lagurus, Leersia, Linum, Nerium, Onopordum, Persicaria, Phlomis, Polypogon, Potamogeton, Securigera, Sedum, Soleirolia, Stachys, Umbilicus, Valerianella, and Vinca. Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrigenda are provided as Suppl. material 1

Analisi morfometrica e cariologica di Armeria arenaria (Pers.) Schult. (Plumbaginaceae) in Italia con un focus particolare sulle sottospecie endemiche dell’Appenino Settentrionale

ITA Armeria arenaria (Pers.) Schult. è una specie altamente polimorfica che comprende 13 sottospecie nel suo areale che va dal Portogallo all’Italia. Il genere Armeria Willd. è noto per l’alto grado di introgressione e ibridismo, il che rende il quadro tassonomico del genere complesso. La più recente revisione tassonomica del genere per il territorio italiano, proposta da Arrigoni nel 2015, (Flora Mediterranea 25, 7-32; 10.7320/FlMedit25SI.007) stabilisce la presenza di 4 entità sottospecifiche di Armeria arenaria in Italia: • Armeria arenaria (Pers.) Schult. subsp. arenaria, presente nel nord Italia. • Armeria arenaria (Pers.) Schult. subsp. marginata (Levier) Arrigoni, endemica italiana con l'areale che va da alcune vette dal Sasso di Simone alle Alpi Apuane • Armeria arenaria (Pers.) Schult. subsp. apennina Arrigoni descritta da Arrigoni come forma intermedia tra le prime due specie. è endemica dell'Appennino settentrionale e sul Monte Cusna vive in simpatria con la precedente. • Armeria arenaria (Pers.) Schult. subsp. praecox (Jord.) Kerguélen. Endemica provenzale la cui presenza è dubbia per l’Italia La monografia è basata principalmente su approcci qualitativi e presenta qualche criticità sia tassonomica che interpretativa; la situazione è ulteriormente complicata anche da un non chiaro quadro nomenclaturale. Per questi motivi, una revisione del gruppo di Armeria arenaria basata su approcci più quantitativi è necessaria per poter risolvere la complessa tassonomia delle entità sottospeciefiche di questa specie. A tal fine, sono stati impiegati approcci di morfometria classica, studio dell’anatomia fogliare e l'analisi del cariotipo per confutare o confermare lo schema tassonomico proposto da Arrigoni, stabilire la presenza di Armeria arenaria subps. praecox in Italia e eventualmente proporre uno schema tassonomico che accolga le nuove evidenze ottenute in questa tesi. Da 12 località, tra cui i quattro loci classici dei 4 taxa, distribuite tra Appennino Settentrionale, Italia del nord (incl. Alpi) e Francia sono stati raccolti circa 20 individui per popolazione per un totale di 229 individui e una quantità adeguata di semi. Da ogni individuo sono stati misurati 57 caratteri di tipo sia qualitativo che quantitativo; inoltre per ogni individuo è stata studiata l’anatomia fogliare tramite sezioni trasversali a mano libera delle foglie. Dai semi, divisi per popolazione, sono stati prelevati gli apici delle plantule appena germinate che sono stati colorati con il protocollo al Feulgen per studiare i cromosomi. Per ogni popolazione sono state scelte 4-5 piastre metafasiche ritenute ottimali per la ricostruzione del cariotipo e dei quattro indici cariologici: MCA, THL, CVCL, CVCI. Tutti i dati sono stati analizzati con R Studio. Dall’analisi multivariata delle componenti principali (PCoA) è emerso che due gruppi sono chiaramente distinguibili: da un lato il gruppo chiamato informalmente “arenarioide” che comprende Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria e Armeria arenaria subsp. praecox e la popolazione del Monte Prinzera (inclusa in Armeria arenaria subsp. apennina da Arrigoni), e dall’altro il gruppo chiamato informalmente “marginatoide” contenente le popolazioni nord appenniniche di Armeria arenaria subsp. marginata e Armeria arenaria subsp. apennina. Lungo il secondo asse la PCoA mostra una leggera separazione tra il locus classicus di Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria e le restanti popolazioni arenarioidi studiate. L’analisi discriminate lineare (LDA) ha rivelato che l’attuale ipotesi tassonomica proposta da Arrigoni non è così supportata in quanto solo l’87% degli individui è stato correttamente classificato ed il K di Cohen si assesta a 0,8, suggerendo componente di casualità nella classificazione. L’analisi discriminate sui due gruppi emersi dalla PCoA rivela il 99% di corretta classificazione un K di Cohen pari a 0,9696. L’anatomia rivela che i due gruppi emersi dalla PCoA sono ben distinti per tratti quali numero di nervature e la posizione e abbondanza del collenchima e dello sclerenchima. Nel gruppo marginatoide l’abbondanza di collenchima rende la nervatura centrale traslucida, mentre in quello arenarioide la nervatura centrale ha un aspetto più rotondeggiante con abbondante sclerenchima, che rende la nervatura centrale non traslucida. Per approfondire le relazioni emerse all'interno del gruppo arenarioide evidenziate dalla PCoA sono state confrontate tutte le popolazioni arenarioidi tramite l’analisi univariata dei caratteri che ha dimostrato come la popolazione del locus classicus di Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria sia la più diversa tra tutte le popolazioni studiate, mentre ci siano meno differenze tra Armeria arenaria subsp. praecox del locus classicus e le popolazioni arenarioidi italiane. Sono state quindi confrontate due ipotesi alternative: la prima che vede le piante marginatoidi, le popolazioni italiane arenariodi insieme al locus classicus di Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria e infine il locus classicus di Armeria arenaria subsp. praecox a sé. La seconda vede le piante marginatoidi, le popolazioni italiane arenariodi insieme al locus classicus di Armeria arenaria subsp. praecox e infine il locus classicus di Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria a sé. Provando la capacità discriminante della LDA su queste due ipotesi alternative si è osservato che la prima ha ottenuto il 96% di corretta classificazione con un K di Cohen pari a 0,925 mentre la seconda 98% di corretta classificazione con un K di Cohen pari a 0,968. I dati cariologici non mostrano una separazione tra le quattro sottospecie in un grafico a dispersione tra MCA e CVCI, però le piante del gruppo marginatoide hanno la tendenza ad avere indici di MCA e THL significativamente più alti rispetto a quello del gruppo arenarioide. Tutte le popolazioni sono diploidi con 18 cromosomi, da metacentrici a submetracentrici, raramente subtelocentrici, a volte sono presenti costrizioni secondarie. Concludendo si può affermare che dai dati in mio possesso, non ci sono le evidenze a supporto della distinzione di due taxa nel gruppo marginatoide e quindi esiste soltanto una sottospecie endemica dell’Appennino Settentrionale, Armeria arenaria subsp. marginata. Per questo è stato aggiornato il quadro nomenclaturale del gruppo. L’esclusione di Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria ha ottenuto il più alto valore di corretta classificazione e K di Cohen, l’ipotesi più supportata è quella di escludere la sottospecie nominale dall'Italia e considerare tutte le popolazioni Italiane arenarioidi come Armeria arenaria subsp. praecox anche se è necessario l’utilizzo di ulteriori studi per chiarire definitivamente il quadro del gruppo arenariodme. Viene fornita una chiave dicotomica per i i taxa di Armeria arenaria segnalati per l’Italia. ENG Armeria arenaria (Pers.) Schult. it is a highly polymorphic species that includes 13 subspecies in its range ranging from Portugal to Italy. The genus Armeria Willd. is known for the high degree of introgression and hybridism, which makes the taxonomic framework of this genus complex. The most recent taxonomic revision of the genus for the Italian territory, proposed by Arrigoni in 2015, (Flora Mediterranea 25, 7-32; 10.7320 / FlMedit25SI.007) establishes the presence of 4 subspecific entities of Armeria arenaria in Italy: • Armeria arenaria (Pers.) Schult. subsp. arenaria, present in northern Italy. • Armeria arenaria (Pers.) Schult. subsp. marginata (Levier) Arrigoni, Italian endemic with the range that goes from some peaks from Sasso di Simone to the Apuan Alps • Armeria arenaria (Pers.) Schult. subsp. apennina Arrigoni described by Arrigoni as an intermediate form between the former two species. It is endemic to the northern Appenines and, on Monte Cusna, it lives together with the previous one. • Armeria arenaria (Pers.) Schult. subsp. praecox (Jord.) Kerguélen. Provençal endemic whose presence is doubtful for Italy The monograph is mainly based on qualitative approaches and has some criticalities both taxonomic and interpretative; the situation is further complicated also by an unclear nomenclatural framework. For these reasons, a revision of Armeria arenaria group based on more quantitative approaches is needed, in order to solve the complex taxonomy of subspecific entities of this species. To this end, classical morphometric approaches, study of leaf anatomy and karyotype analysis were used to refute or confirm the taxonomic scheme proposed by Arrigoni, establish the presence of Armeria arenaria subsp. praecox in Italy and, possibly, propose a taxonomic scheme that accommodates the new evidence obtained in this thesis. About 20 individuals per population were collected from 12 locations, including the four classical loci of the 4 taxa, distributed between Northern Apennines, Northern Italy (Alps included) and France, for a total of 229 individuals and an adequate quantity of seeds. 57 characters of both qualitative and quantitative type were measured from each individual; in addition, the leaf anatomy was studied for each individual through freehand cross sections of the leaves. From the seeds, divided by population, the apexes of the newly germinated seedlings were taken and stained with the Feulgen protocol to study the chromosomes. For each population, 4-5 metaphasic plates were chosen, considered optimal for the reconstruction of the karyotype and of the four karyological indices: MCA, THL, CVCL, CVCI. All data were analyzed with R Studio. From the Principal Component Analysis (PCoA) emerged that two groups are clearly distinguishable: on the one hand, the group informally called "arenarioid" which includes Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria and Armeria arenaria subsp. praecox and the population of Monte Prinzera (included by Arrigoni in Armeria arenaria subsp. apennina), and on the other the group informally called "marginatoid" containing the northern Apennine populations of Armeria arenaria subsp. marginata and Armeria arenaria subsp. apennina. Along the second axis, the PCoA shows a slight separation between the locus classicus of Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria and the remaining arenarioid populations studied. The linear discriminate analysis (LDA) revealed that the current taxonomic hypothesis proposed by Arrigoni is not as supported as only 87% of individuals have been correctly classified and Cohen's K settles at 0.8, suggesting component of randomness in the classification. The discriminated analysis on the two groups that emerged from the PCoA reveals 99% of correct classification a Cohen's K equal to 0.9696. The anatomy reveals that the two groups that emerged from PCoA are well distinguished by features such as number of ribs and the position and abundance of collenchyma and sclerenchyma. In the marginatoid group, the abundance of collenchyma makes the central rib translucent, while in the arenarioid group, the central rib has a more rounded appearance with abundant sclerenchyma, which makes the central rib non-translucent. To investigate the relationships that emerged within the arenarioid group highlighted by the PCoA, all the arenarioid populations were compared through the univariate analysis of the characters which demonstrated that the locus classicus of Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria is the most diverse of all the populations studied, while there are fewer differences between Armeria arenaria subsp. praecox of the locus classicus and the Italian arenarioid populations. Two alternative hypotheses were then compared: the first which sees marginatoid plants, the Italian arenarioid populations together with the locus classicus of Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria and finally the locus classicus of Armeria arenaria subsp. praecox on its own. The second sees the marginatoid plants, the Italian arenarioid populations together with the locus classicus of Armeria arenaria subsp. praecox and finally the locus classicus of Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria on its own. By testing the discriminating capacity of the LDA on these two alternative hypotheses, it was observed that the first obtained 96% correct classification with a Cohen's K equal to 0.925 while the second one got 98% correct classification with a Cohen's K equal to 0.968. The cariological data does not show a separation between the four subspecies in a scatter plot between MCA and CVCI, however plants of the marginatoid group have a tendency to have significantly higher MCA and THL indices than that of the arenarioid group. All populations are diploid with 18 chromosomes, from metacentric to sub-centric, rarely subtelocentric, sometimes secondary constrictions are present. In conclusion, it can be said that from the data in my possession, there is no evidence to support the distinction of two taxa in the marginatoid group and therefore there is only one subspecies endemic to the Northern Apennines, Armeria arenaria subsp. marginata. For this reason the nomenclatural framework of the group has been updated. The exclusion of Armeria arenaria subsp. arenaria obtained the highest correct classification value and Cohen's K. Thus, the most supported hypothesis suggests the possibility to exclude the nominal subspecies from Italy and consider all the Italian arenarioid populations as Armeria arenaria subsp. praecox. Nevertheless, further studies will definitively clarify the picture of the arenarioid group. A dichotomous key is provided for the Armeria arenaria taxa reported for Italy

A Comprehensive Approach to Improving Endemic Plant Species Research, Conservation, and Popularization

Scientific research is the main driver to push forward and disseminate botanical knowledge. Despite many institutions having this fundamental aim as a core activity, many of them do not have a complete set of facilities, expertise, staff, and resources to cover all the steps involved in the study, management, conservation, and popularization of plant diversity. Accordingly, we propose a workflow formalizing the cooperation between a botanical garden and a botanical research center, focused on the study of plant endemic species. Specifically, the cooperation was implemented between the PLANTSEED Lab of the Department of Biology and the Botanic Garden and Museum of the University of Pisa. We present seven representative case studies (Armeria arenaria complex, Bellevalia webbiana, Crocus etruscus and C. ilvensis, Dianthus virgineus complex, Pulmonaria hirta complex, and Santolina chamaecyparissus complex) to disentangle the approaches and opportunities arising from cooperative approaches, from laboratory to cultivation. We analyze the emerging properties derived from this synergistic cooperation by promoting open research questions and answering them using a comprehensive approach to improving endemic plant species research, conservation, and popularization in the botanical garden. In this manuscript, we show how a cooperative approach between heterogeneous botanical institutions can constitute an effective and easy-to-implement approach to achieve the goals of each partner involved in the cooperation

Red-list of Italian bryophytes. 1. liverworts and hornworts

The objective of this study is to provide an updated conservation status of all liverworts and hornworts in the Italian territory, evaluated according to IUCN’s Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional Level. Overall, 27.4% of taxa assessed in this study are assigned to a risk category and, therefore, considered threatened in Italy. Four liverworts are considered as Extinct, two liverworts and one hornwort Possibly Extinct at regional level. Moreover, a further 9.8% are assessed as Near Threatened, 10.8% as Data Deficient and 49.7% as Least Concern. Most threats are co-occurring, indicating that many taxa are subjected to a set of correlated adverse processes. The main IUCN major threats identified were natural system modifications (i.e., dam construction, increases in fire frequency/intensity, and water management/use), climate change (mainly increasing frequency of droughts and temperature extremes), agriculture (including pollution from agricultural effluents) and aquaculture

Integrative Taxonomy of Armeria arenaria (Plumbaginaceae), with a Special Focus on the Putative Subspecies Endemic to the Apennines

Three subspecies of Armeria arenaria are reported from Italy, two of which are considered endemic to the Apennines. The taxonomic value of these two taxa (A. arenaria subsp. marginata and A. arenaria subsp. apennina) is unclear. Moreover, the relationships between A. arenaria subsp. praecox and Northern Italian populations—currently ascribed to A. arenaria subsp. arenaria—have never been addressed. Accordingly, we used an integrated taxonomic approach, including morphometry, seed morpho–colorimetry, karyology, molecular systematics (psbA–trnH, trnQ–rps16, trnF–trnL, trnL–rpl32, and ITS region), and comparative niche analysis. According to our results, French–Northern Italian populations are clearly distinct from Apennine populations. In the first group, there is evidence which allows the recognition of A. arenaria s.str. (not occurring in Italy) and A. arenaria subsp. praecox. In the second group, the two putative taxa endemic to the Northern Apennines cannot be separated, so a single subspecies is here recognized: A. arenaria subsp. marginata

Integrative Taxonomy of Armeria arenaria (Plumbaginaceae), with a Special Focus on the Putative Subspecies Endemic to the Apennines

Three subspecies of Armeria arenaria are reported from Italy, two of which are considered endemic to the Apennines. The taxonomic value of these two taxa (A. arenaria subsp. marginata and A. arenaria subsp. apennina) is unclear. Moreover, the relationships between A. arenaria subsp. praecox and Northern Italian populations—currently ascribed to A. arenaria subsp. arenaria—have never been addressed. Accordingly, we used an integrated taxonomic approach, including morphometry, seed morpho–colorimetry, karyology, molecular systematics (psbA–trnH, trnQ–rps16, trnF–trnL, trnL–rpl32, and ITS region), and comparative niche analysis. According to our results, French–Northern Italian populations are clearly distinct from Apennine populations. In the first group, there is evidence which allows the recognition of A. arenaria s.str. (not occurring in Italy) and A. arenaria subsp. praecox. In the second group, the two putative taxa endemic to the Northern Apennines cannot be separated, so a single subspecies is here recognized: A. arenaria subsp. marginata

Notulae to the Italian native vascular flora: 17

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of native vascular flora in Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, and exclusions to the Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Anacyclus, Anthyllis, Bolboschoenus, Catapodium, Festuca, Hordeum, Lavandula, Ophrys, Pseudopodospermum, Rosa, Sorbus and Spergula. Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrigenda are provided as Suppl. material 1

Chronicle of a death foretold: The vanishing of an emblematic cultural landscape results in the loss of its unique plant communities

Badlands are peculiar geomorphological formations shaping landscapes of high ecological and cultural value. In the last decades, land reclamation for agricultural purposes and the cessation of traditional land use, such as sheep grazing, led to their decline in extent in many areas. To quantify the changes in badland-related plant communities, we resurveyed badland vegetation in a site of the Crete Senesi (Siena, central Italy) after 16 years (2006–2022), using 48 quasi-permanent vegetation plots and by means of uni- and multivariate analysis of variance. We found an increase in the total vegetation cover of plant communities growing in former bare soil and sparsely vegetated areas, in line with an overall decrease in the extent of bare soil surfaces in the study area, which we highlighted through the analysis of multitemporal satellite images. Pioneer vegetation characterized by the endemic plant Artemisia caerulescens subsp. cretacea changed into ruderal annual grasslands, while former bare soils were colonized by such pioneer vegetation. In contrast, perennial grasslands remained stable. Grasslands with shrubs became more similar to perennial grasslands in species composition. Species richness increased in former bare soils, and using the total vegetation cover as a proxy for successional stages, we found that Shannon diversity and evenness peaked at about 90% of total cover. In all the stages of colonization, short distance dispersal species prevailed, both therophytes (Avena sterilis, Parapholis strigosa) and perennials (Artemisia caerulescens subsp. cretacea, Bromopsis erecta). Long distance dispersal species (Galatella linosyris) started colonizing at about 60% of total vegetation cover, and at high vegetation cover all the functional groups coexisted. Our results confirm that the badland landscapes of southern Tuscany and specialist plant diversity adapted to badlands are vanishing after a diminishing of active land management, suggesting the current ineffectiveness of the Natura 2000 network in their conservation