Page 4 - Mazzola_2012

366 P. MAZZOLA, R. SCHICCHI & S. CICCARELLO
the Etna, A. navicularis Nardi (2n = 24), is distri-
buted in Sardinia, the Egadi Islands and in the nor-
thern Algeria and Tunisia; A. altissima Desf. marks
contacts between SE Sicily and Algeria; A. clusii
Lojac. (2n = 12) occurs in S-Italy, Sicily and Malta. The native taxa are: O. siculum (Tineo ex Guss.)
From a more general point of view, there are several
other geophytes showing similar correlations in the
Central Mediterranean.
Among these, Orchis brancifortii Biv. (Fig. 3)
occurs in Sardinia, Sicily, and probably in some cal- rettimo, west of Sicily; O. dimartinoi (Brullo et Pa-
careous sites scattered in the southernmost Calabria. vone) F. Conti et Soldano (Fig. 7), confined in the
O. longicornu (Poir.) occurs in Sicily, Sardinia and
Corsica; Serapias nurrica Corrias, first described
as endemic to Sardinia (Corrias, 1982) is presently
known occurring scattered in several localities of
Sicily (Giardina et al., 2007), Calabria, Corsica
(Grünanger, 2001) and Tunisia (Véla et al., 2012).
As regards other regions, in comparison with O.
quadripunctata Cirillo ex Ten., O brancifortii can
be considered as an interesting case of vicariance
relating to southeastern European taxa. Similar cor-
relation with SE European flora can be found in se-
veral other taxa (Galanthus, for instance).
CIRCUMSICILIAN ISLANDS
In addition to the above outlined relations, most calcareous geological origins. Among these, Allium
of the instances concerning distribution and evolu-
tion of the endemic pattern are inside the Sicilian
archipelago itself. Here only some cases are taken
into account.
The orchid genus Anacamptis Rich., whose
wide range includes most of Europe and the Medi-
terranean, in Sicily is represented by A. pyramida-
lis (L.) Rich. (2n = 36), wich is widespread
generally on limestone ground. This species is also
found in the Maltese islands there bearing the te-
traploid 2n = 72 number. Furthermore in the same
islands another local diploid endemic species is
confined, A. urvilleana (Sommier) Caruana (2n =
36), being morphologically, karyologically and
phenologically quite distinct from A. pyramidalis.
The occurrence of these two isolated taxa has been
considered as the result of contacts happened bet-
ween Sicily and Malta and consequent evolution
processes that have been repeated at least two times
(Del Prete et al., 1991).
Another example in the family of Hyacinthaceae
refers to Oncostema, a genus with a central and W-
Mediterranean range, which in Sicily is represented
by 4 native species endemic to the Archipelago
(Fig. 4) and 1 naturalized there (Oncostema peru-
vianum (L.) Speta, from SW Iberian peninsula).
Speta (2n = 28) (Fig. 5) which occurs in several,
scattered localities of NW and SE Sicily, and in
Malta where aneuploid elements have also been re-
corded; O. hughii (Tineo ex Guss.) Speta (2n = 28)
(Fig. 6), which is confined in Egadi Island of Ma-
islet of Lampedusa, located between Sicily and
Malta. Finally O. ceruleum (Raf.) Speta, distribu-
ted in the central and western part of Sicily. This
fragmented distribution at the species level gene-
rally agrees with some possible evolution happe-
ned in a rather far past. Therefore, some small areas
where O. siculum and O. ceruleum occurr can pre-
sently be considered as having had an insular status
like the coastal more evident ones shown by Rai-
mondo et al. (2001).
Considering the complex surrounding Sicily, in
general each island denotes its own insular condi-
tion through some local representatives whose neo-
or palaeo- endemic nature refers to the volcanic or
is represented by several species localized in very
small islets (cfr. Giardina et al., 2007). In particular,
in the Egadi islands, A. aethusanum Garbari and A.
franciniae Brullo et Pavone, are endemic to Favi-
gnana and Marettimo, respectively.
In addition, A. lopadusanum Bartolo et al., is a
rare endemic to Lampedusa (Pelagie islands); A.
longispatum Lojac., of uncertain value, is located
in the past islet of Capo Catalfano (Raimondo et
al., 2001). Regarding other families showing simi-
lar distributions, in the Amarylidaceae family,
Pancratium linosae Soldano et Conti is confined
in the Linosa islet (Pelagie islands); and among
the orchids, Serapias cossyrensis B. et H. Bau-
mann, related to S. cordigera L., is endemic to
Pantelleria (Pelagie islands). Finally, Ophrys sco-
lopax Cav. s.l. is cited owing to it occasionally oc-
curs in the islets of the Archipelago without any
constant localization. This is another characteristic
of geophytes, especially orchids, and their occur-
rence in the islands.