Three New Alien Taxa for Europe and a Chorological Update on the Alien Vascular Flora of Calabria (Southern Italy)

• Main Authors: Valentina Lucia Astrid Laface, Carmelo Maria Musarella, Ana Cano Ortiz, Ricardo Quinto Canas, Serafino Cannavò, Giovanni Spampinato
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: Plants
• Subjects: biodiversity; check-list; exotic plant; herbarium specimens; invasiveness; new floristic records
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/9/1181

Knowledge on alien species is needed nowadays to protect natural habitats and prevent ecological damage. The presence of new alien plant species in Italy is increasing every day. Calabria, its southernmost region, is not yet well known with regard to this aspect. Thanks to fieldwork, sampling, and observing many exotic plants in Calabria, here, we report new data on 34 alien taxa. In particular, we found three new taxa for Europe (<em>Cascabela thevetia</em>, <em>Ipomoea setosa</em> subsp. <em>pavonii</em>, and <em>Tecoma stans</em>), three new for Italy (<em>Brugmansia aurea</em>, <em>Narcissus </em>‘<em>Cotinga’</em>, and <em>Narcissus </em>‘<em>Erlicheer’</em>), one new one for the Italian Peninsula (<em>Luffa aegyptiaca</em>), and 21 new taxa for Calabria (<em>Allium cepa</em>, <em>Asparagus setaceus</em>, <em>Bassia scoparia</em>, <em>Beta vulgaris</em> subsp. <em>vulgaris</em>, <em>Bidens formosa</em>, <em>Casuarina equisetifolia</em>, <em>Cedrus atlantica</em>, <em>Chlorophytum comosum</em>, <em>Cucurbita maxima</em> subsp. <em>maxima</em>, <em>Dolichandra unguis-cati</em>, <em>Fagopyrum esculentum</em>, <em>Freesia alba</em>, <em>Juglans regia</em>, <em>Kalanchoë delagoënsis</em>, <em>Passiflora caerulea</em>, <em>Portulaca grandiflora</em>, <em>Prunus armeniaca</em>, <em>Prunus dulcis</em>, <em>Solanum tuberosum</em>, <em>Tradescantia sillamontana</em>, and <em>Washingtonia filifera</em>). Furthermore, we provide the first geolocalized record of <em>Araujia sericifera</em>, the confirmation of <em>Oxalis stricta</em>, and propose a change of status for four taxa (<em>Cenchrus setaceus</em>, <em>Salpichroa origanifolia</em>, <em>Sesbania punicea</em>, and <em>Nothoscordum gracile</em>) for Calabria. The updated knowledge on the presence of new alien species in Calabria, in Italy and in Europe could allow for the prevention of other new entries and to eliminate this potential ecological threat to natural habitats.