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

An updated overview of the 29 threatened crop wild relatives (CWRs) endemic to Italy is presented, namely: Arrhenatherum elatius subsp. nebrodense, Barbarea rupicola, Brassica baldensis, Brassica glabrescens, Brassica macrocarpa, Brassica rupestris subsp. hispida, Brassica rupestris subsp. rupestris, Brassica tardarae, Brassica trichocarpa, Brassica tyrrhena, Brassica villosa subsp. bivonana, Brassica villosa subsp. brevisiliqua, Brassica villosa subsp. drepanensis, Brassica villosa subsp. tineoi, Brassica villosa subsp. villosa, Daucus broteroi, Daucus carota subsp. rupestris, Daucus nebrodensis, Diplotaxis scaposa, Festuca centroapenninica, Lathyrus apenninus, Lathyrus odoratus, Malus crescimannoi, Phalaris arundinacea subsp. rotgesii, Vicia brulloi, Vicia consentina, Vicia giacominiana, Vicia ochroleuca subsp. ochroleuca, Vicia tenuifolia subsp. elegans. Data concerning geographical distribution, ecology (including plant communities and habitats of the Directive 92/43/EEC), genetics (chromosome number, breeding system, and/or the existence of gene pools), threat status at the national and international level (Red Lists), key plant properties, and in situ and ex situ conservation were analyzed and shown. At present, most of the listed endemic CWRs, 23 out of 29, have no gene pool at all, so they are CWRs only according to the taxon group and not according to the gene pool concept. In addition, there is a serious lack of data on the ex situ conservation in gene banks, with 16 species identified as high priority (HP) while 22 taxa have high priority (A) for in situ conservation. With the aim of their protection, conservation, and valorization, specific and urgent actions are recommended

Evidence from multivariate morphometric study of the quercus pubescens complex in southeast Italy

The name Quercus pubescens s.l. encompasses a complex of deciduous oak taxa with mainly southeastEuropean distribution and a large ecological niche. As the easternmost region of Italy, Apulia is rather isolated from a geographical and physiographical viewpoint and counts the highest number of oak species (10). In the taxonomic and phytosociological literature, the occurrence of several species belonging to the Quercus pubescens collective group is reported for this region. In order to verify if different sets of morphological characters are associated with different taxa, 24 populations of Quercus pubescens s.l. located in different ecological-geographical areas of Apulia were sampled. A total of 367 trees, 4254 leaves and 1120 fruits were collected and morphologically analysed. Overall, 25 morphological characters of oak leaves and fruits were statistically treated using both univariate and multivariate analysis. Nested ANOVA showed that leaves collected from a single tree exhibited a degree of morphological variability higher than that observed when comparing leaves coming from different trees of the same population and from different trees of different populations as well. Almost all the morphological characters analysed exhibited a continuous trend of variation so that none of them can be used as a character to discriminate between populations. Only leaf and fruit “size” and fruit petiole length emerged as slightly discriminating characters. Our results suggest that it is unlikely that more than one species belonging to the Quercus pubescens complex occurs in the Apulia region. Comparison between the Apulian populations and a genetically pure Q. pubescens population coming from a different area (the Molise region) strengthened the assumption as to the existence of a single species that can provisionally be classified under the name of Q. pubescens s.

Orchidaceae in Puglia (Italy): Consistency, Distribution, and Conservation

A study of the distribution of orchid species in Puglia, based on an analysis of 2084 bibliographic reports from 2000 to 2022, was carried out with the aim of revising and updating the information on the consistency of the Orchidaceae family in Puglia, with a special focus on assessing threatened species occurring inside and outside protected areas. The work presents a checklist of the Orchidaceae taxa (genera, species, and subspecies) found in the region, including observations on genera and species that present taxonomic challenges. A total of 113 taxa (i.e., species and subspecies), distributed across 16 genera, are listed in alphabetical order. The most representative genera were Ophrys (51 taxa), Serapias (15 taxa), and Epipactis (11 taxa). Additionally, 49 taxa (43.4%) were found to be endemic to Italy, with 21 of these, mostly belonging to the Ophrys genus, being exclusive to Puglia. Our study notes two different trends of distribution: a predominantly coastal distribution for orchid records located in southern Puglia (the Salento peninsula) and a more widespread distribution for the other provinces. Our study also shows that the greatest number of records locate orchids in protected areas with a positive correlation between their presence and habitats cited in Directive 92/43/EEC

Comparative chromosome studies in species of subtribe Orchidinae (Orchidaceae)

In our study, FISH mapping using 18S-5.8S-25S rDNA and 5S rDNA sequences was performed for the first time on Ophrys tenthredinifera Willdenow, 1805, Serapias vomeracea (Burman f., 1770) Briquet, 1910 and Himantoglossum hircinum (Linnaeus, 1753) Sprengel, 1826. A detailed study was also performed on O. tenthredinifera using Giemsa-staining, silver-staining, CMA fluorescence banding and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) with rDNA probes. We analysed two subspecies, i.e. O. tenthredinifera subsp. neglecta (Parlatore, 1860) E.G. Camus, 1908 and O. tenthredinifera subsp. grandiflora (Tenore, 1819) Kreutz, 2004 by the traditional Feulgen method and constructed the karyotype. The cytotaxonomic implications for both taxa are also discussed. In Himantoglossum hircinum, FISH and silver staining highlighted differences in the number of two rDNA families (35S and 5S) with respect to Barlia robertiana (Loiseleur-Deslongchamps, 1807) Greuter, 1967. In addition, fluorescence in situ hybridisation was also applied to diploid (2n = 2x = 36) and triploid (2n = 3x = 54) Anacamptis morio (Linnaeus, 1753) R.M. Bateman, Pridgeon et M.W. Chase, 1997. As far as we are aware, this is the first case of autotriploidy observed in A. morio

Analisi fitosociologica su alcune specie rare o minacciate del Parco Nazionale del Gargano (Italia centro-meridionale) e considerazioni sintassonomiche sulle comunità casmofitiche della Puglia

New plant associations are proposed for Gargano national Park concerning the flag species of this territory. Furthermore a new syntaxonomical scheme for amphi-Adriatic vegetation is proposed

Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 6

In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of four vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment of Epipactis maricae (Croce, Bongiorni, De Vivo & Fori) Presser & S.Hertel at global level, and the regional assessment of Cerinthe retorta Sm. (Italy), Platanthera kuenkelei H.Baumann subsp. kuenkelei (Europe) and Typha elephantina Roxb. (Egypt)

De la lectura a la creación en la red: el tráiler de lectura

El artículo describe y reflexiona sobre las competencias lectoras que tiene que desarrollar un adolescente en un entorno digital. El foco se pone en cómo el entorno digital transforma al lector en un creador de contenidos y en las acciones que se pueden realizar para conseguirlo de manera diversificada, lingüística y culturalmente. La primera parte del estudio desarrolla el concepto de competencia lectora digital: las destrezas que debe desarrollar, los tipos de textos que Internet le propone y las dificultades con las que se encuentra. La segunda parte analiza los resultados de tres estudios de casos en los que la lectura se transforma en creación a través del tráiler de lectura (se trata de concursos realizados en catalán, desde un centro educativo, la biblioteca y la institución pública) y en las acciones de políticas públicas que se proponen llevar a cabo para mejorar los resultados

Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 5

In this contribution, the conservation status of four vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment of Arceuthobium oxycedri (DC.) M.Bieb., Ionopsidium albiflorum Durieu, Trifolium latinum Sebast., and Vicia incisa M.Bieb. at a Regional level (Italy)