Elisabetta Scassellati

Woody flora as a predictor of vascular plant richness: An insight in Italy

A key problem in quantifying biodiversity is whether it is possible to infer the overall diversity using suitable data subsets. The aim of this article, based on the updated data on the native woody flora of Italy, is to evaluate the reliability of such data as a predictor of vascular plant richness at a medium scale represented by the 20 administrative regions. Woody taxa were divided in trees, shrubs and lianas. We used stepwise multiple regression and principal component analysis to analyse the correlation between environmental heterogeneity, vascular plant units (species and subspecies) richness and woody units’ richness. Woody flora of Italy consists of 61 families, 133 genera, 469 species and 509 units. Shrubs constitute 74% of the woody flora, trees and lianas of 23% and 3%, respectively. Both stepwise multiple regression analysis and two principal component analyses strongly suggest that woody units, and trees in particular, are correlated with total vascular plant richness, at all hierarchical taxonomical levels. The environmental heterogeneity has been demonstrated to be much more important than the area for the biodiversity of Italian regions. Woody flora, as a surrogate of total flora, is extremely useful for rapid assessments of overall vascular plant diversity that may be exploited for monitoring purposes.

Morphological study of three taxa of the genus Rubus L. sect. Rubus (Rosaceae) in Western Central Italy

ABSTRACT The three most frequent taxa of Rubus subgen. Rubus sect. Rubus in Western Central Italy are here examined from a morphological point of view. The study is based mostly on new collections. The morphological variability of each taxon is analyzed at the regional scale, and a complete description for the three entities is provided.

Salt glands of Armeria canescens (Host) Boiss.: Morphological and functional aspects

Abstract The morphology and functionality of salt glands in four Italian Armeria canescens populations were investigated. Microscopic analysis showed that salt glands consist of 16 cells arranged in four quadrants, including four subsidiary cells and 12 gland cells. The main secreted elements are K, Ca and Cl, although qualitative and quantitative differences were observed between gland and subsidiary cells. Soil characteristics like texture, pH and C/N ratio were shown to vary between population sites. The highest number of glands per leaf area was found in plants from Ca-rich sites. Although A. canescens is not a halophilous species, its salt glands were revealed to be active, suggesting that they could represent an ancestral character.