Nuove specie vegetali per la pianura veneta

Vengono presentate quattro segnalazioni floristiche per la pianura veneta. Tre delle specie riportate di seguito costituiscono nuove segnalazioni per la regione e rispondono a modalit\ue0 di diffusione ben note: Rostraria litorea e Brassica tournefortii rientrano nel novero di quelle specie con distribuzione meridionale che, nel nostro emisfero, si stanno diffondendo verso nord anche a causa dei cambiamenti climatici. Campanula porscharskyana \ue8 una specie che pur essendo originaria di aree piuttosto vicine (Alpi Dinariche), \ue8 stata diffusa volontariamente dall\u2019uomo come specie ornamentale e, nell\u2019area indagata, sembra aver trovato le condizioni per potersi espandere autonomamente. La quarta specie, non \ue8 nuova per la regione ma non per questo il suo ritrovamento \ue8 meno interessante: si tratta di Rhamnus saxatilis, specie che in pianura era conosciuta soltanto per le foci del Tagliamento, area ben nota per l\u2019eccezionale ricchezza di specie di origine alpina e montana. Ulteriore elemento di interesse per questo ritrovamento \ue8 dato dal fatto che, al contrario delle tre specie precedenti, la sua presenza lungo le sponde della Brenta non pu\uf2 essere troppo recente vista la dimensione degli individui rinvenuti

Increasing the germination percentage of a declining native orchid (Himantoglossum adriaticum) by pollen transfer and outbreeding between populations

The declining native orchid Himantoglossum adriaticum H. Baumann is a European endemic of priority interest (92/43/ EEC, Annex II). Northern Italian populations of H. adriaticum are small and isolated, with depressed seed set. Given the important implications for plant population conservation, we tested the hypothesis that artificial pollen transfer (hand-pollination) and outbreeding between populations increases fruit set and seed germination percentage. The background fruit set and in vitro germination rates were determined for ten reference populations. An artificial cross-pollination experiment included (a) pollen transfer from one large population to two small and isolated populations; (b) pollen transfer between two small but not isolated populations; (c) within-population pollen transfer (control). All seeds were sown on a modified Malmgren's medium and cultured in a controlled environment. Germination percentage was compared using a Kruskal-Wallis anova. The background fruit set (mean = 18%) and germination (<5%) rates were consistently low across populations. Fruit set after hand-pollination was consistently 100%. Pollen transfer from the largest population to smaller populations resulted in an increase in total germination ranging from 0.9% to 2.9%. The largest increase in germination occurred between small-sized and less isolated populations (from 1.7% to 5.1%). The results of pollen transfer between the small populations are particularly encouraging, as the mean increase in germination was almost four times that of the control. Outbreeding can be considered a valuable tool to increase genetic flow and germination in natural populations, limit the accumulation of detrimental effects on fitness driven by repeated breeding with closely-related individuals, thereby increasing the possibility of conservation of rare or endangered species

Itineraries of the Working Group for Vegetation Science of the Italian Botanical Society – 1 (2022): Excursion to the Egadi Islands, Mount San Giuliano and Mount Cofano (Trapani, western Sicily, Italy)

The results of the annual excursion of the Working Group for Vegetation Science of the Italian Botanical Society, held in the Egadi Islands, Mount San Giuliano and Mount Cofano (W Sicily) on April 23–27 2022, are presented. This paper includes: (1) general information on the visited sites; (2) geology and geomorphology; (3) climatology and bioclimatology with tables of climatic data; (4) description of the following five geobotanical itineraries – accompanied by 29 original vegetation relevés and 11 synthetic relevés, proceeding from different bibliographic references: (a) Mount San Giuliano; (b) Marettimo Island: coastal and sub-coastal stretch of the southern part, between Punta Bassana and Contrada Chiappera; (c) Marettimo Island: Case Romane, Mount Pizzo Falcone and the north-western coastal stretch; (d) Island of Levanzo; (e) Mount Cofano – with catenal pictograms of the vegetation, surveys and description of the plant communities and related syntaxonomic scheme; (5) list of the surveyed plant taxa, collected specimens and herbaria in which they are deposited. A new syntaxon is also described (Catapodio pauciflori-Moraeetum sisyrinchii ass. nova), referring to an ephemeral dry grassland located along the north-western coastal stretch of Marettimo. The new association is framed in the Plantagini-Catapodion balearici, alliance of the Stipo-Bupleuretalia semicompositi order of the class Stipo-Trachynietea distachyae (order Stipo-Bupleuretalia semicompositi, alliance Plantagini-Catapodion balearici). An original synoptic table, regarding 17 different plant communities with high frequency of Moraea sisyrinchium, provides a comparative framework of the new association with allied vegetation units so far described throughout the Mediterranean region. Syntaxonomical and nomenclatural remarks regarding the Mediterranean vegetation occurring in this territory are also given throughout the text. Some floristic updates for the study sites are also reported, including the discovery for the first time in Sicily of Lysimachia loeflingii

Contribution to the floristic knowledge of the head of the Po Valley (Piedmont, north Italy)

In 2014, the annual field trip of the working group for Floristics, Systematics, and Evolution of the Italian Botanical Society was held in Piemonte (northern Italy), at the head of the Po Valley. This valley, at whose extremity is located the Monviso (3,841 m a.s.l.), belongs to the Cottian Alps about which very little is known from a floristic point of view. An inventory of the taxa of vascular plants collected during the field trip is reported here. The research led to the identification of 3,546 exsiccata, kept in nine public and nine private collections. A total of 669 taxa belonging to 79 plant families were recorded. Six taxa resulted endemic to Italy and three exclusive to Piemonte, while only nine alien species were detected; six taxa are new and five confirmed for the regional flora

Flora del gruppo del M .Ceva e della fascia torbosa di bonifica del Ferro di Cavallo (Colli Euganei, PD, NE Italia) = Flora of the Mount Ceva group and the peaty belt of the “Ferro di Cavallo” (Euganean Hills, PD, NE Italy)

Study area, located in the easternmost end of the Euganean Hills, is particularly abundant in plant species and concentrates the highest number of mediterranean entities in the Veneto mainland. Some of them are very rare in Northern Italy, whereas others, in alpine regions, are exclusive of this small sector of the Padua heights. L’area di studio, ubicata nell’estremo lembo orientale dei Colli Euganei, è ricchissima di specie vegetali e in essa si concentra il massimo numero di entità stenomediterranee di tutto l’entroterra della nostra regione. Alcune di queste sono molto rare in Italia settentrionale; altre, nelle regioni italiane interessate dall’arco alpino, sono esclusive di questo piccolo settore delle alture padovane

Morphology, geometric morphometrics, and taxonomy in relict deciduous oaks woods in northern Italy

Y The Euganean Hills are a well- known refugee site for thermophilous woody flora in northern Italy. Among the species recorded here, there is Quercus dalechampii. The Euganean Hills are the only northern Italy site where the occurrence of this oak species is considered. The aim of this paper was to verify the presence of Q. dalechampii in the study area and to select possible diagnostic morphological traits that are usable to distinguish it from Q. petraea and Q. pubescens. Forest stands dominated by Q. petraea, Q. pubescens, and the presumed Q. dalechampii were sampled using the phytosociological approach to highlight their ecological features. Leaf and fruit material from 104 oak individuals was analysed from a macro-morphological and micro-morphological point of view. Leaf shape was also analysed using the geometric morphometric approach. All multivariate analysis procedures applied on the matrices of leaf and fruit traits highlighted two main clusters of morphological diversity. One was restricted to Q. pubescens individuals, and the other one was a mix of Q. petraea and presumed Q. dalechampii individuals. According to the twig and leaf trichome traits, all presumed Q. dalechampii individuals were classified as belonging to the Q. petraea collective group. Morphological differences between Q. petraea and presumed Q. dalechampii were considered not significant. In conclusion, the occurrence of a third oak species, in addition to Q. petraea and Q. pubescens, was not confirmed for the study area by the results of this paper

Pregio naturalistico del settore costiero antistante l\u2019ex Ospedale al Mare (isola di Lido \u2013 Venezia)

In this paper we present the results of the analysis of plant communities/habitats, flora, fauna and macromycetes present in a small but very significant sector of the Lido di Venezia coast. The almost total reduction human pressures during about forty years, drives the area to the recovery of habitats of the High Adriatic coast. Among the most significant habitats there are: 1210 - Annual vegetation of drift lines, 2110 - Embryonic shifting dunes, 2130 * - Fixed coastal dunes with herbaceous vegetation (gray dunes), 7210 * - Calcareous fens with Cladium mariscus and species of the Caricion davallianae, 6420 - Mediterranean tall humid herb grasslands of the Molinio-Holoschoenion. All the multidisciplinary assessments show the strengths of the recover paths. The floristic survey led to the discovery of rare species of Veneto, among other Centaurium littorale and Cutandia maritima. The observations on birds recorded the presence of species such as Charadrius alexandrinus and Sternula albifrons in the near the sea sector, and the nesting of Caprimulgus europaeus and Lanius collurio. Even the mycological surveys confirm the ecosystem recover, increasing the consistency between existing and potential conditions. The paper also shows the advantages and the limits of some coastal management approaches

Contributo alla conoscenza del valore conservazionistico delle Grave di Ciano del Montello (Fiume Piave, NE Italia)

Con sopralluoghi svoltisi negli anni 2020 e 2021 sono stati accertati 385 taxa della flora vascolare delle Grave di Ciano del Montello (medio corso del Piave), ambito di sovrapposizione ZSC/ZPS individuato dalla Regione Veneto per la realizzazione di casse di laminazione delle piene. L’analisi corologica, strutturale e delle specie minacciate evidenzia l’elevato valore conservazionistico dell’area e solleva la questione sul ruolo della conoscenza botanica nella gestione del territorio