Angelo Troia

Università degli Studi di Palermo | UNIPA · Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche Chimiche e Farmaceutiche

Isoetes is a widely distributed lycophyte genus of at least 200 species occurring in diverse habitats. The species can be difficult to identify because Isoetes, with its apparent simplicity of form and conserved morphology, provides few diagnostic features to reliably distinguish its species. The last worldwide monograph, published nearly a century...

The results of preliminary phytosociological investigations on freshwater communities of Sicily biotopes with a significant presence of Characeae are presented. In spite of the relatively frequent occurrence of Characeae, a typical Charetea intermediae vegetation is rather rare in the investigated biotopes. Indeed, the Characeae are mainly part of...

To elucidate the taxonomic status of Ruppia drepanensis Tineo ex Guss. (Alismatales, Ruppiaceae), we performed morphological analysis and DNA barcoding of historical materials (including the lectotype) and fresh samples (including those from a recently discovered population near the locus classicus in Sicily, Italy). We conclude that R. drepanensis...

The huge biodiversity of inland waters and the many different aquatic habitats or ecosystems occurring there are particularly threatened by human impacts. In this Special Issue, ten articles have been collected that show new data on the distribution and ecology of some rare aquatic macrophytes, including both vascular plants and charophytes, but al...

Recent reports of Najas marina L. (Hydrocharitaceae) from Sicily have been interpreted as a confirmation of its presence on the island, where it was earlier mentioned in the 1800s. However the recent finds do not represent “N. marina” (currently N. major All.) but N. marina subsp. armata Horn (= N. delilei Rouy), a different taxon, previously not r...

In 1885 Lojacono-Pojero described Cistus skanbergi, also known as the dwarf pink rockrose, from the Island of Lampedusa (Sicily, Italy). Despite becoming extinct in its type locality and being very rare in the Mediterranean Basin, during the last decades the plant corresponding to this name, a natural hybrid between C. parviflorus Lam. and C. monsp...

This paper deals with typification of three species names in Isoetes described from France: the lectotype previously designated for I. delalandei J.Lloyd is here superseded by another lectotype according to new evidence, and lectotypes are designated for I. echinospora Durieu and I. tenuissima Boreau. Selected specimens are preserved at ANG for I....

Un alga estrechamente ligada a aguas salobres se ha convertido en protagonista de un proyecto internacional de conservación debido a su carácter de ingeniera de ecosistemas. España es uno de los cuatro países participantes y cuenta con poblaciones tanto en la Península como en las islas Baleares.

One lycophyte genus and species ( Isoëtes gymnocarpa ), and one aquatic magnoliophyte species ( Utricularia × neglecta ) new for the flora of Montenegro are reported. It is suggested that the new population of Isoëtes gymnocarpa and its habitat should be protected.

Conservation translocations are becoming common conservation practice, so there is an increasing need of understanding the drivers of plant translocation performance through reviews of cases at global and regional levels. The establishment of the Italian Database of Plant Translocation (IDPlanT) provides the opportunity to review the techniques use...

Plants as animals are strictly associated with a cortege of microbial communities influencing their health, fitness and evolution. Therefore, scientists refer to all living organisms as holobionts; complex genetic units that coevolve simultaneously. This is what has been recently proposed as the hologenome theory of evolution. This exciting and att...

Operation Jay" to help maintain biodiversity Nelle cronache attuali leggiamo spesso di iniziative di "guerrilla gardening" basate sulle "bombe di semi" (seed bombs) altrimenti dette "palline di semi" (seed balls). Si tratta in generale di iniziative lodevoli mirate a rinverdire aree incolte o abbandonate, in genere in contesti urbani, utilizzando p...

A thorough research on the scientific activity of Guglielmo Gasparrini, Giovanni Gussone and Augustin Pyramus De Candolle allowed the authors to adress a research in several European herbaria looking for the type of the name Senecio pygmaeus DC. The original specimen sent by Gussone and mentioned in the protologue by Candolle is still kept at G-DC...

Recent divergence can obscure species boundaries among closely related taxa. Silene section Italicae (Caryophyllaceae) has been taxonomically controversial, with about 30 species described. We investigate species delimitation within this section using 500 specimens sequenced for one nuclear and two plastid markers. Despite the use of a small number...

In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of two vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the global assessment of Isoëtes todaroana Troìa & Raimondo and Moluccella bucharica (B.Fedtsch.) Ryding.

RIASSUNTO Questo lavoro fornisce un resoconto preliminare degli ambienti umidi (aree lacustri, stagni per-manenti e temporanei, pantani salmastri o d'acqua dolce, spesso indicati coi nomi vernacolari "gorgo", "biviere", ecc.) presenti in Sicilia fino a pochi secoli o decenni fa. I dati di questa ricerca-desunti sia da resoconti sulle bonifiche a sc...

Field investigation carried out by the Sicilian botanists in the last 20 years enabled them to identify eight habitat types of high biogeographic and conservation interest, neglected by the Directive 92/43, which deserve ad hoc conservation measures. For each of these habitats, a syntaxonomic interpretation of the corresponding plant communities, t...

IDPlanT is the Italian Database of Plant Translocation, an initiative of the Nature Conservation Working Group of the Italian Botanical Society. IDPlanT currently includes 185 plant translocations. The establishment of a national database on plant translocation is a key step forward in data sharing and techniques improvement in this field of plant...

• Isoëtes sabatina is the rarest aquatic quillwort in Europe. Although recently found (2013) in Lake Bracciano (central Italy), the species is just one step away from extinction with an estimated population not exceeding 400 individuals and a spatial range of a few hundred square metres. • Lake Bracciano is a deep, oligo-mesotrophic Mediterranean v...

Mediterranean wetlands are severely affected by habitat degradation and related loss of biodiversity. In this scenario, the wide number of artificial farm ponds can play a significant role in the biodiversity conservation of aquatic flora. In the present contribution we show the preliminary results of a study on Mediterranean farm ponds of north-we...

Foeniculum piperitum was described as Anethum piperitum based on plants collected in Sicily, Italy. Currently it is treated either as a synonym of Foeniculum vulgare, or as one of two subspecies within that taxon. Here we show that F. vulgare and F. piperitum are two different, sometimes co-occurring, taxa and that given clear morphological and eco...

A mountainous area in western Sicily, where relic wood vegetation is still preserved notwithstanding past and present human pressure, is here analysed in order to prepare a checklist of its vascular flora. Field investigations allowed to compile a floristic inventory including 601 infrageneric taxa belonging to 304 genera and 80 families. Some rema...

An important bisexual population of the charophyte Chara canescens Loisel. (Characeae, Charales, Charophyceae) was reported in the XIX century for the Pergusa Lake (Sicily). A recent field survey to check its presence revealed that it has disappeared. After a bibliographic research to understand when and why this happened, the input of freshwater f...

Italy is located in the heart of the Mediterranean Basin, a region considered one of the most threatened global biodiversity hotspots. Its environmental and climatic heterogeneity allowed the differentiation of a large number of plant species (more than 8.200 taxa), that however are subjected to an increased number of threats due to changes in soci...

Cytisus aeolicus is a narrow endemic species restricted to the Aeolian archipelago (SE Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) and it is one of the most evolutionarily isolated plants in the Mediterranean flora. Historical and literature data suggest that both metapopulations and isolated individuals of C. aeolicus are gradually shrinking. Field investigations and...

A bibliography on lichens in Sicily has been compiled and is here provided, as a comprehensive source to facilitate further studies focused on the regional territory. We checked the available literature from 1692 to 2020. We listed alphabetically a selection of 397 key publications and provided some comments on their distribution in time and space,...

A new species of Brassica sect. Brassica is described here from Sicily (Italy), which is known to be one of the centers of the diversification of wild taxa of this group. The new species (named Brassica tardarae) is restricted to the carbonate cliffs in the Tardara Gorges between Menfi and Sambuca di Sicilia (Agrigento province), an area with a pec...

Updated and reliable data on the presence and distribution of alien aquatic plant species in Sicily are lacking, and there is a need to fill this gap for a proper and efficient management of freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity. This paper reviews the available knowledge about alien aquatic vascular plants in the inland waters of Sicily (Italy)....

The first record of Polypodium from Gozo (Maltese Islands) was described as a new endemic taxon, Polypodium vulgare subsp. melitense , based on its unique set of morphological characters. It was treated as a novelty and designated as a subspecies of P. vulgare mainly due to the lack of paraphyses, the presence of 10–16 annular cells, and a mean spo...

Our study aimed at clarifying the current and previous occurrence, distribution and status (native vs. introduced) of Euphorbia lathyris L., the caper spurge, in S Italy and Sicily: the recent Italian floras and checklists, in fact, do not report this species for this area. To do this, a multi-disciplinary research was carried out taking into accou...

In this study we focused on four taxa of the genus Calendula (C. maritima, C. suffruticosa subsp. fulgida, C. arvensis, and the hybrid between the first two ones), collected in Mediterranean area (Sicily). Six extracts for each species were obtained using solvents with increasing polarity (hexane, ethanol 80%, acetone 70%, and water) and through ex...

L’ausilio dei social network, piattaforme spiccatamente vocate ad accorciare le distanze sociali tra gente con interessi comuni, negli ultimi anni ha dato un grosso input ai progetti di Citizen Science. È il caso di una interessante discussione nata sul gruppo “Fauna Siciliana”, circa il presunto trend negativo della calandra (Melanocorypha calandr...

The European Red List is a review of the status of European species according to IUCN regional Red Listing guidelines. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the regional level – in order that appropriate conservation action can be taken to improve their status. This publication summarises results for all Europe’s native...

New records to the Characean flora of Sicily are presented. Five species (Chara baltica, C. conimbrigensis, C. oedophylla, Nitella gracilis, Tolypella salina) are new to Sicily, two of them being also new to Italy (Chara conimbrigensis, C. oedophylla). Two species are confirmed for Sicily (Chara aspera, Nitella opaca), three (Chara braunii, C. cane...

To better understand the phylogeny of Isoetes species in the Mediterranean region, sequences of the second intron of a LFY-like homolog were determined for six populations of three Mediterranean Isoetes species and analyzed with other LFY and ITS sequences of euro-Mediterranean species available in genbank. Nomenclature of selected species was upda...

Although Ferdinando Bassi is the nomenclatural authority for the genus Ambrosina, the correct spelling of the name should be the Linnaean “Ambrosinia”. A lectotype is designated for A. bassii, the only species currently recognized. In addition, two lectotypes, two epitypes and one neotype are designated for other names of taxa currently treated wit...

The genus Eucalyptus has been widely introduced into many regions of the world outside its native range and has become invasive in some Mediterranean biomes (e.g. in southern Africa and California). In the Mediterranean Basin and Europe, eucalypts were introduced at the end of the 18th century. However, natural regeneration events in these regions...

With the advent of cytological analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy, the recognition of sterile hybrids, improved access to wild populations and increasingly comprehensive molecular investigations, there has been a revolution in Isoetes taxonomy in recent times. The last 40 years have seen an almost 100% increase in the diversity documented durin...

To stabilize the application of some names in the genus Isoetes in the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot, we studied herbarium specimens and imaged spores with scanning electron microscopy, with special reference to those taxa in the I. longissima and I. histrix groups that were described from France, Algeria and Turkey, and are in need of a taxon...

The stonewort vegetation is commonly classified into the phytosociological class Charetea fragilis F. Fukarek ex Krausch 1964; however, the Characeae are not exclusively found in vegetation stands ascribed to this class but also in other habitat types. In our preliminary investigations, we draw the attention to the relationship between the classes...

Characeae is a taxonomically critical family. Taxonomical uncertainties inevitably affect its distributional data. The role of herbarium specimens, particularly types and original material, is crucial for unravelling taxonomical ‘knots’. Moreover, wet areas have undergone dramatic reduction and modification in the last century and historical herbar...

Wood (1960) investigated about the types of the four names of Characeae published by Linnaeus (1753) in his Species Plantarum. He focussed on the herbarium specimens forgetting the images mentioned in the protologues. Here we list and present the pre-Linnaean illustrations that have to be considered “original material” (according to the Internation...

Our understanding of the richness and uniqueness of the flora growing on gypsum substrates in Italy has grown significantly since the 19th century and, even today, new plant species are still being discovered. However, the plants and plant communities, growing on gypsum substrates in Italy, are still a relatively unknown subject. The main aim of th...

ANOVA analysis by gypsophily level

Limonium calcarae (basionym Statice calcarae), a rare diploid species endemic to Sicily, is one of the few members of the genus that occurs in the inland areas of the island. According to IUCN criteria, it has been assessed as critically endangered but recent data on its distribution, demography and threats affecting its populations are lacking. A...

Our taxonomic and nomenclatural research reveals that the name ‘Carex laxula Tineo ex Boott’ (section Sylvaticae) has not been validly published. Consequently, the oldest available name for the species is Carex paui Sennen. A lectotype for the valid name Carex sylvatica var. laxula Tineo ex Guss. is here designated.

The results of a project for the identification of species-specific monitoring protocols for the Italian plant species protected under the Habitats Directive (Annexes II/IV/V) are presented. The project led to the development of 118 monitoring factsheets, providing an operational guidance for 107 vascular taxa, 10 bryophytes and 1 lichen taxon. Eac...

This research was carried out to better define the pollen, fruit and seed morphology of Ambrosina bassii, the only species of this rare Mediterranean endemic genus. Pollen traits were already known, but here we investigated on their variability in distant populations and in different morphotypes (‘varieties’). Fruit and seed traits were almost unkn...

Intervento a un convegno

Floristic and vegetation records for the coastal wetlands in the territory of Petrosino (Western Sicily). New populations of some regionally rare angiosperm species, found in the coastal wetlands of the territory of Petrosino (Province of Trapani) currently protected as a site of the European network “Natura 2000” (code ITA010006) and as a “Ramsar”...

New data on the geographical distribution and ecology of two rare taxa of Carex collected in the area of the Nebrodi Mountains (Sicily) are provided; the Sicilian populations of both taxa are at the border of their respective ranges, and their regional distribution is still poorly known. The new population of Carex × boenninghausiana reported here...

This article presents new records of water-starworts (Callitriche sp. pl.) from the Mediterranean basin, resulting from review of herbarium specimens and field work. Callitriche brutia var. naftolskyi is stated as a new combination and confirmed from Greece (Lesvos and Milos), Israel, Italy (Sardinia and Sicily), Libya, Morocco and Syria; C. lusita...

Vengono presentati i risultati preliminari di una indagine multidisciplinare condotta in una zona umida nel territorio di Calatafimi Segesta in provincia di Trapani. L'area è di grande interesse per la presenza di rare specie animali e vegetali, di habitat minacciati tutelati da normative nazionali ed internazionali, ma anche perché è una delle ult...

The strict relationship between plants and particular types of substrate has long been known to botanists and plant ecologists who have dealt with this issue. The peculiar flora growing on Italian gypsum substrates has been underlined since the nineteenth century (1, 2, 3). The concept of plant gypsophily can be defined as the exclusiveness or mark...

Temporary wetlands are endangered throughout the entire Mediterranean area (1). Contrary to the permanent wetlands, that (usually) cover larger surfaces and are now protected after a long period of siege and ‘reclamation’ attempts, temporary ponds and wetlands are small, scattered areas still under pressure and threatened by human activities. This...

Based on a recent collection made by the authors, the presence of the endangered Pilularia minuta Durieu in Sicily (Italy) is confirmed. Critical review of relevant literature and herbarium specimens suggests that the only previous report for the island, made in 1887, can, fairly confidently, be considered to be the result of a misidentification. T...

After a short review of the available information on dispersal in the heterosporous genus Isoetes, which has been the subject of some mainly anecdotal or occasional observations, a case study in the Mediterranean area is presented. In the geographical context given by the island of Sicily with its satellite islets and archipelagos, the distribution...

The small, annual grass Brachypodium distachyon (L.) Beauv., a close relative of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), is a powerful model system for cereals and bioenergy grasses. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of natural variation can elucidate the genetic basis of complex traits but have been so far limited in B....

Troia A. & Greuter W.: A conspectus of and key to Greek Isoetes (Isoetaceae), based on a reassessment of Haussknecht's gatherings of 1885. — Willdenowia 45: 391–403. 2015. — Version of record first published online on 6 October 2015 ahead of inclusion in December 2015 issue; ISSN 1868-6397; © 2015 BGBM Berlin. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3372/wi.45.4...

The name Isoetes setacea Lam. has been applied to two different species, causing nomenclatural and taxonomic confusion. Some authors have rejected it on that account, yet it is currently used in a sense that is incompatible with its type. That type represents one of two similar species, I. echinospora and I. lacustris, which still today grow togeth...

As a result of our work on the Lycopodiaceae account for the Critical Flora of Italy, a new, synonymic inventory of Italian taxa is presented, based on herbarium studies and critical re-examination of extant literature. Three genera with 8 species are accepted: Huperzia (1 species), Lycopodiella (1), and Lycopodium (6). An additional, ninth species...

An annotated synonymic inventory of Italian Selaginella taxa, a practical key for their identification and their dot distribution maps are presented, as a result of our work on the Selaginellaceae account for the Flora Critica d’Italia. The names Lycopodium helveticum L. and Selaginella denticulata var. platystachya Hieron. are typified.

Several studies have been made, in the last years, on dispersal in ferns: they focused mainly on homosporous pteridophytes, which after all represent the great part of the living species; less attention has been paid to heterosporous pteridophytes, even less to heterosporous lycophytes. Within this group, dispersal in the heterosporous genus Isoete...

Procedures are presented that were followed during the preparation of the first pteridophyte family treatments for the “Flora Critica d’Italia”: Lycopodiaceae, Isoetaceae, Selaginellaceae. The work was mainly based on the study of literature and herbarium specimens. In some cases SEM observation of spores has proved useful. Data collected from herb...

http://www.floraditalia.it/pdf/Isoetaceae.pdf

Occurrences of hybridization between the rare, endangered Sicilian endemic, Calendula maritima, and other congeners in the wild has been suspected by several authors, but never demonstrated. In San Cusumano (Trapani), one of only three Sicilian mainland populations, C. maritima occurs in close proximity to the more common congener C. suffruticosa s...

New data on the distribution, biology, intra- and inter-population variability and conservation state of Sicilian populations of Anacolia webbii are provided. Two new localities are reported, so that total five fragmented populations occur in the island, all of them in a rather small area in the western part of the province of Palermo. They live on...

During our work on the Lycopodiaceae account for the upcoming Flora Critica d'Italia (1, 2), we assessed and accepted the presence in Italy of Lycopodium lagopus (Laest. ex Hartm.) Zinserl. ex Kuzen. = L. clavatum subsp. monostachyon (Grev. & Hook.) Selander (2). Already reported by Fiori (3) as L. clavatum f. monostachyum Desv., its presence in It...

This is the third of a series of miscellaneous contributions, by various authors, where hitherto unpublished data relevant to both the Med-Checklist and the Euro+Med (or Sisyphus) projects are presented. This instalment deals with the families Isoetaceae; Amaranthaceae, Callitrichaceae, Campanulaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Compositae, Cr...

We characterized previously unsequenced germplasm, as well as reference lines, from the Mediterranean and Middle East. Geographic Origins collections sites for 95 Brachypodium accessions . Genotyping by Sequencing genomic DNA extraction ATCGA T T GATC GATCGACTGAT TCGACTGATC GBS is a reduced-representation method that determines sequences flanking (...

The morphological variability of the Isoetes longissima complex in Italy has been analyzed, on the basis of selected herbarium specimens. Observations were made on spore ornamentation and size, number of leaves per plant and maximum leaf length, velum extension and alae width in the basal portion of leaves. The first count of chromosome number on p...

Names of 20 presumed taxa in Draba sect. Aizopsis, all based on material from Italy, are considered. Full synonymies are provided, and types are designated (for 14 names) or indicated. Most of the taxa are currently considered unworthy of recognition, of which 16 belong in D. aspera sensu lato. However, the question of whether the Sicilian populati...

The work on the Isoetaceae account for the Critical Flora of Italy has resulted in a new, synonymic inventory of Italian Isoetes taxa, based on herbarium studies, observation by scanning electron microscopy and critical re-examination of the previously published works. Ten species are listed. The names I. longissima and I. gymnocarpa are restored a...

This is the twenty-three of a series of reports of chromosomes numbers from Mediterranean area, peri-Alpine communities and the Atlantic Islands, in English or French language. It comprises contributions on 56 taxa: Anthriscus, Bupleurum, Dichoropetalum, Eryngium, Ferula, Ferulago, Lagoecia, Oenanthe, Prangos, Scaligeria, Seseli and Torilis from Tu...