The ornamental flora of Wstern Sicily

S. Rossini Oliva, F. M. Raimondo & B. Valdés The ornamental flora or Western Sicily Introduction Abstract Rossini Oliva, S., Raimondo, F. M. & Valdés, B.: The ornamental flora of Western Sicily. - Bocconea 16(2): 1171-1176.2003. -ISSN 1120-4060. The omamental flora of western Sicily was studied in an area which covers three provinces: Palermo, Agrigento and Trapani. A total of95 towns and villages were visited and ornamentaI plants growing in the public green areas were studied. The omamental flora of this area reaches a total of 633 species, which be long to 120 families and 364 genera. Fabaceae, Asferaceae and Rosaceae are the best represented families, with a total of 38, 36 and 31 species respectively. Opunfia, with II species is the best represented genus, followed by Acac ia, Prunu s, Ficu s, Quercus, Euphorbia, Ag ave and Sa/via. A 24% of the Sicilian omamental flora com es from Asia, 22% from America, 16% from Europe, 16 % from Africa, 7% from Australia and 1% from the Canary Island. Mediterranean flora is represented by only a 9% ofth e total number. Sicily is the biggest Mediterranean island, with a perimeter of 925578 km, a total area of 25000 km2, and 5,5 million inhabitants. The western part of this island includes three provinces: Agrigento, Palermo and Trapani. Palermo's province is the biggest and most populated, with an area of 5000 km2. Palermo is the biggest city, with c. I million inhabitants. Agrigento's province has an area of 3042 km2; the capitai, Agrigento, with 55424 inhabitants, is the biggest city. Trapani's province is situated in the most western part of the island, and it is the smallest one with an area of 2462 km2 (Caltabellotta & al. 1998). Climate of the island is typically Mediterranean, characterised by a' mean temperature of 22 °C during the hottest month with a raining period concentrated during AutumnWinter. The mean temperature is between 16 and 18 ° C. The coldest month is January (sometimes February) and the hottest July (sometimes August), with a mean temperature of30 ° C. A systematic study of the ornamental flora of Western Sicily was undertaken between 1997 and 2000, as an attempt to know the floristic diversity of green areas of this region. The results of this study are summarised in this note. More detailed papers on some particular groups have been published elsewhere (Rossini Oliva & Valdés 200 l; Rossini Oliva & al. 2002a, b, c; Rossini Oliva & al. 2003). 1172 Rossini Oliva & al.: The omamental flora ofwestern Sicily Materials and methods This study has been carried out between October 1997 and July 2000. A total of 94 towns and villages belonging to the provinces of Palermo, Agrigento and Trapani have been studied, including Palermo, the capitai of Sicily, with c. 1 million inhabitants. Ornamental species in public areas, this is, squares, avenues, gardens, parks and streets have been studied, as well as courtyards ofpublic buildings, palaces and churches. Private gardens have been excluded. The 94 localities have been repeatedly visited along the year, which has allowed to observe all omamental plants during three· consecutive vegetative periods, and to study them when flowering and fruiting. Rosa was not considered in this paper, since it needs an independent study owned to the enormous richness in omamental cultivars. Samples of most species were taken to form a reference herbarium to identify the plants, which is deposited in the Herbarium Mediterraneum, at Palermo (PAL). Plant material was identified by using different keys and reference books, particularly Britton & Rose (1963), Dallimore & Jackson (1923), Tutin & al. (1964-1980), Backeberg (1976), Herklots (1976), Jacobsen (1960, 1970), Mitchell (1985), Walters & al. (19841986, 1989), Pignatti (1982), Valdés & al. (1987), Traverso (1990), Huxley (1992) y Andrés & Rossini (1998), as well as specialised papers and, by comparison with plants growing at the Botanical Gardens of Rome, Naples and specially Palermo. Results and discussion The omamental flora of this area reaches a total of 633 species, which belong to 120 Canarian Islands Oth S . 10/0 er pecI es Hybrids 2% Australia 7% Mediterranean 9% A , 3% ' ." Europe 16% Fig. l. Geographic origin of the species. America 22% Bocconea 16(2) -2003 1173 families and 364 genera. For geography origin (Fig. 1) ,24% ofthe species come from Asia (179 species), 22% from America (168 species), 16% come from Europe (126 species) and from Africa in the same percentage (125 species). Plants from Mediterranean area are represented by only the 9% (72 species), 51 species (7%) come from Australia, the 3% are represented by hybrids (25 species) and, l % come from the Canary Island (lO species). Species coming from Africa are represented in a percentage similar to those coming from Europe. This is due to the Mediterranean c\imate ofthe area, which allowes the easy growing of plants from Europe and N Africa and this is the reason why some of the citi es studi ed, i. e. Palermo has an omamental flora similar to some North Africa cities. The lower percentage of Mediterranean species (9%) is a bit surprising (Rossini Oliva & al. 2002c), and results trom the traditional trend to incorporate to gardens the most exotic plants, which has resulted in an increase of Asiatic and American plants and a lost of the traditional Mediterranean and European plants which dominated in pre-Renaissance gardens. Tree species represent the higher percentage (32%) ofthe W Sicilian omamental flora, followed by herbs (inc\uding annual, biannual and perennial) and shrubs, which are represented in the same percentage (29%). Climbing species represent a total of 5%; palms the 3% and l % are sub-shrubs. As far as flower and leave phenology is concemed, most species flower during spring and summer, followed by species that blossom in autumn and in winter. There are also species that blossom ali the year arround, such as Bouganvillea spp ., Nerium oleander L., Lantana camara L and Aptenia cordifolia (L. f.) Schwantes. Within trees, 52% are evergreen and 48% deciduous. A 79% ofthe shrubs are evergreen and 21 % are deciduous. In some case s, such as observed foliar and flower phenology differs trom information reported by other authors (Pizzetti & Cooker 1968; Pignatti 1982; Traverso 1990), due, most probably to the hot Sicilian climate and to the long summer periodo F abaceae is the best represented family of the omamental flora of the study area, with a total of 38 species: 26 trees, IO shrubs, one c\imbing and one annual herb. These species belong to genera Acacia, Albizia, Ana gy ris, Bauhinia, Caesalpine a, Calliandra, Cassia, Ceratonia, Cercis, Erythrina, Gledìtsia, Laburnum, Lupinu s, Medicago, Parkinsonia, Retama, Robinia, Sesbania, Sophora, Spartium and Wist eria. Genus Acacia is the best represented, with lO species. Some ofthese omamental Fabaceae are very common in W Sicily, particularly Acacia baileyana and A. cyanophylla. But almost one third ofthem are very rare, often represented in the study area by very few specimens, as Acacia melanoxylon R. Br., Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth., Bauhinia acuminata L. , Bauhinia va riegata L., Cassia bicapsularis L., Erytrhrina crista-galli L. , Lupin us hartwegi LindI. and Sophora secundiflora (Ortega) Lag. ex DC. In relation to their origin, only 15 ,7% come trom the Mediterranean area, with some only grown in one locality, as Medicago arborea L., which is used in Agrigento to form edges in some gardens ofthe Temple's Valley. The presence of some species such as Anagyris foetida L. in urban green areas results from the incorporation of wild areas into urban or priurban parks, whi1e keeping some of the existing plants. Some, as Ceratonia siliqua L., Cercis siliquastrum L. and Spartium junc eum L. come from the Mediterranean region. The continent better represented is America, with 31,5% ofthe Fabaceae grown as omamental in W Sicily, followed by Asia 1174 Rossini Oliva & al.: The omamental flora ofwestem Sicily and Australia, with a 21 % each. A 7,8% ofthe species (just three) come from S Africa and one species (Laburnum anagyroides Medik.), comes from non-Mediterranean Europe. The second best represented family is Asteraceae, with a total of 36 species and 19 genera. Perennial herbs represent a total of 57% species (20 altogether), followed by perennial sub-shrubs (17%). Annual herbs represent the 14% and perennial shrubs are present by only the 12 % of the species. In relation to their origin, the 26% come from America, followed by the 17 % that come from the Mediterranean area and Europe in the same percentage. The 14% of the species come from Africa and an II % from the Canary Island. Only 8% come from Asia. These species belong to the genera Ageratum, Artemisia, Argyranthemum, Aster; Bellis, Calendula, Centaurea, Chrysanthemum, Dahlia, Dimorphoteca, Gaillardia, Gazania, Kleinia, Helianthu s, Leucanthemum, Ligularia, Montanoa, Pericallis, Santolina, Senecio, Tagetes and Zinnia. Senecio is the best represented genus, with 6 species. Some of these omamental Asteraceae species are very common in W Sicily, such as Argyranthemum frutescens L. (Chrysanthemum frutescens) and Senecio angulatus L. f. But most ofthem are very rare, often represented in the study area by very few specimens, as Senecio malacitanus Huter, Ageratum haustonianum Mill., Aster rotundifolius Thunb. and Dimorphoteca sinuata DC. (Rossini Oliva & al. 2003). The third best represented family is Rosaceae, with a total of 31 species and 14 genera (Rossini Oliva & al. 2002c). Most of the species found in the study area are much omamental, especially because their flowers showiness and the abundant flowering. Prunus is the best represented genus, with a total of IO species, followed by Cotoneaster and Spiraea (each one with 3 species); the others genera are represented by only one or two species. Chaenomeles speciosa, Prunus spinosa, Mespilus germanica and Rhaphiolepsis umbellata are the most common species. Shrubby species represent the 58% (18 species) of the total. Most of the species are deciduous (71 %, con 22 specie), whilst only the 29% (9 species) are evergreen. This means that some species have an interesting omamental value due to their foliar colours in auturnn. Most of the species (20 species) come from Asia and only one, Crataegus azarolus L., comes from the Mediterranean. The species belong to genera Chaenomeles, Cotoneaster, Crataegus, Cydonia, Eriobotrya, Malus, Mespilus, Photinia, Prunus, Pyracantha, Pyrus, Rhaphioolepis, Sorbus and Spiraea. Many families are very scarcely represented (Table l) . Of them, 39 are represented by only one species and 21 by two species, often belonging to different genera. However, there are many families that even if represented by only one species are abundant. This is the case of Pittosporacea e, Cannaceae and Myoporaceae. Pittosporum tobira (Thunb.) W. T. Aiton and Myoporum tenuifolium G. Forst. are the most common shrubs everywhere. On the other hand, there are also families represented by only one species that are al so not much abundant and in some cases can be considered rare in W Sicily (Rossini Oliva & al. 2002). This is the case of Combretaceae that is represented by Quisqualis indica L. , with a single plant, which grows in Palermo. The omamental flora ofW Sicily inc1udes some species that can not be strict1y considered as omamental, as they are not intentionally planted as part of a gardening or plantation project. They result from the maintenance within gardening areas of some wild plants, Bocconea 16(2) -2003 1175 Table I. Fam ili es scarcely represented in the ornamental flora of Western Sicily. Familia N. Sp. N.Ge o. Fa milia N.S p. N.Ge o. Acanthaceae 4 4 Geraniaceae 3 I Aceraceae 6 I Iridaceae 7 4 Agavaceae 22 8 Lamiaceae 24 14 Aizoaceae 12 8 Lauraceae 4 3 Aloeaceae 13 3 Liliaceae 19 14 Amaranthaceae 3 3 Malvaceae 8 6 Anacardiaceae 6 3 Moraceae 13 4 Apocynaceae 7 7 Myrtaceae 9 5 Araceae 7 7 Nyctaginaceae 3 2 Araliaceae 9 8 Oleaceae 18 7 Araucariaceae 4 I Pinaceae 13 4 Arecaceae 19 12 Plumbaginaceae 4 3 Asteraceae 36 19 Poaceae 5 3 Berberidaceae 4 3 Polygonaceae 4 4 Bignoniaceae 9 7 Proteaceae 3 I Brassicaceae 5 5 Ranunculaceae 3 2 Cactaceae 23 Il Rosaceae 31 14 Caprifoliaceae Il 5 Rutaceae 8 4 Caryophy ll aceae 5 2 Salicaceae 7 2 Casuarinaceae 3 I Scrophulariaceae 7 5 Celastraceae 3 2 Solanaceae 15 8 Chenopodiaceae 3 3 Sterculiaceae 4 3 Commelinaceae 3 2 Tamaricaceae 5 I Convolvulaceae 5 2 Tiliaceae 6 2 Crassulaceae 15 6 Ulmaceae 6 2 Cupressaceae 14 8 Verbenaceae 6 4 Euphorbiaceae 9 2 Violaceae 3 I Fabaceae 38 21 Vitaceae 4 4 Fagaceae 9 I when an urban or periurban park is extended and covers an area previously occupied by wi ld vegetation. They can not be included into the concept of garden weeds, as they are integrated in the gardens as another omamental plant and kept and cared as such. This is the case, by instance of Anagyris foetida L., which is now growing as ornamental plant in the urban park of Valderice (Trapani), Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav., growing in the sub-urban park of Cattolica Eraclea (Agrigento), Capparis spinosa L., a very abundant species that was observed in Monreale (Palermo) and in the urban park of Caltabe ll otta (Agrigento), Atriplex glauca L. , rather common in marginai gardening areas in Agrigento a nd He/ianthus annus L. which growes in some gardens ofPalermo and Trapani provinces. Ackoowledgemeots This study is realized with finaocial support of Assessorato Agricoltura e Foreste of Sicilian Region (L.R. 25/93). 1176 Rossini Oliva & al.: The ornamental flora of western Sicily References Andrés Cam acho, M. C. & Rossini Oliva, S. 1998: Catalogo de Especies. Arboreto de El Carambolo. -Sevilla. 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M. & Webb, D. A. 1964-1980: Flora Europaea, l-S. -Cambridge. Valdés, B., Talavera, S. & Galiano, E. F. 1987: Flora Vascular de Andalucia Occidental, 1-3. - Barcelona. Walters, S. M., Brady, A., Brickell, C. D., Cullen, J., Green, P. S., Lewis, J., Matthews, Y. A., Webb, D. A., Yeo, P. F. & Alexander, J. C. M. 1984-1986: The European Garden FIorai, 1-2. - Cambridge, London, New York, New Rochelle, Melbourne, Sydney. , Alexander, J. C. M., Brady, A ., Brickell, C. D., Cullen, J., Green, P. S., Heywood, V. H., Matthews, Y. A., Robson, N. K. B., Yeo, P. F. , & Knees, S. G 1989: The European Garden Flora, 3. -Cambridge, New York, New Rochelle, Melbourne, Sydney. Addresses of the authors: S. Rossini Oliva* & B. Valdés, Department ofPlant Biology and Ecology, University of Seville, Avda. Reina Mercedes si n, Apto de Correo 1095,41080 Seville, Spain. F. M. Raimondo**, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Dipartimento di Scienze Botaniche, via Archirafi, 28 -90123, Palermo, Italy. (*)Email: [email protected] (**)Email: [email protected]