The changing role of botanic gardens in the Mediterranean

Born as medicinal plant gardens (Gardens of Simples, Giardini dei semplici), for the cultivation and study of medicinal plants and the use their active principles, very soon, botanical gardens adapted themselves to the emerging needs of changing societies, expanding their activities towards new goals

Orobanche cohenii (Orobanchaceae) a new species from Israel

Orobanche cohenii a new species belonging to Orobanche sect. Trionychon is described and illustrated from Mt. Hermon, Israel. Its relationships with the other species of Orobanche sect. Trionychon occurring in this area are examined

OPTIMA Newsletter

OPTIMA Newsletter is a news journal for the presentation and discussion of issues pertinent to Mediterranean botany, published by the Secretariat of the Organization for the Phyto-Taxonomic Investigation of the Mediterranean Area

Primo rinvenimento in Sicilia di Typha laxmannii (Typhaceae)

First record of Typha laxmannii Lepech. (Typhaceae) in Sicily. Typha laxmannii Lepech. (Typhaceae) is here reported, for the first time, in Sicily at Scopello, near Castellammare del Golfo (NW Sicily). This species is compared with the congenerics occurring in the region; dichotomous key and description are also given to make the identification easier

VERBENA BONARIENSIS (VERBENACEAE) ADVENTIVE IN ITALY

Among the species of Verbena L. cultivated in Italy Traverso (1) reports: V venosa Gilles, V tenera Sprengel (= V. pulchella Sweet.) and the horticultural hybrid V I?Jbrida Hort. (=V. hortensis Hort.). No trace of V. bonariensis L., that is reported about 60 years later as naturalized in Tuscany (2). In the Herbarium Centrale !talcum (Fl) are housed specimens collected in Piedmont and Tuscany, labelled as V. venosa - taxon considered a variety of V. bonariensis. V. bonariensis, as indicated by the specific epithet, is a South American species, herbaceous, usually perennial, also cultivated as an ornamental. Several varieties and wild lforms are known of this taxon. The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) records: V bonariensis f. albiflora Moldenke, V. bonariensis var. brevibracteata Kuntze, V. bonariensis var. conglomerata Briq., V bonariensis f. gracilis (Cham.) Voss., V. bonariensis var. hispida Moldenke, V. bonariensis var. litoralis Hook., V. bonariensis var. longibradt?ata Kuntze, V. bonariensis var. rigida (Spreng.) Kuntz, V. bonariensis f. robustior Chodat, V bonariensis f. venosa (Gillies & Hook.) V oss. This species is native of S. America (Argentina, Brasile, ]Paraguay and Uruguay) (3, 4) and introduced in the USA (5), Azores, Great Britain, Canary Islands, Portugal, Madeira (6) and in Italy, as reported above, in Tuscany, in Tombolo Pisano (PI) (2, 7, 8) and in Liguria (8). Some considerations on the tendency of naturalization of the species in Sicily (9) where accidentally misinterpreted as the report of naturalization in the region (10, 11). This record was neglected in the subsequent floras and checklists (7, 8, 12, 13). Recently we verified the spontaneous occurrence of v~ bonariensis at the edges of a channel, in the southern outskirts of the city of Palermo (Sicily). This population, referred to V. bonariensis var. hispida, is made up of about 100 vigorous and perennial individuals with tendency to expand, actually, in the same area. The taxonomic identity of the Tuscan populations is different. In this region, it is known from Tombolo Pisano (2) as well as from Florence as documented by specimens collected in the square in front of the rail station of S. Maria Novella (Raimondo et Domina, 21/06/2012, PAL), in the fenced area for works of rearrangement of the square. In comparison with the population from Tombolo Pisano, referred to the nominal type, the population from Florence looks like annual and belonging to a diffe1rent variety, also in comparison with the Sicilian one. The recent discovery in Sicily as well as increasing the 11uota of adventitious exotic vascular flora of the island, confirms the tendency of the species to spread further in. the national territory

XV OPTIMA MEETING, Montpellier (France), 6-11 June 2016, Abstracts

Book of abstract of the XV OPTIMA MEETING held in Montpellier (France) from 6th to 11th June 201

The discovery of plant biodiversity by children through the animated movies: Alice in Wonderland

The discovery of biodiversity in childs occurs through various channels: either through direct contact with the outside world, and indirectly through paintings, games and the media. Since 1937, Walt Disney Animation Studios realized animated movies inspired from novels. The first feature film was \u201cSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs\u201d. Since this, Disney\u2019s studios realized more than 10 dozen movies. The feature that distinguishes these works from a technical point of view is the attention to detail especially for the scene where the action takes place. Animals are often the protagonists of these stories, rarely plants. A good example of the latter is in \u201cAlice in wonderland\u201d, a movie distributed in 1951 that tells the story of the discovery by Alice of an unmusical, fantasy-filled world beyond her imagination populated by odd human and plant and animal characters. The plot of this film is taken from \u201cAlice's Adventures in Wonderland\u201d, an 1865 novel written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll with several inclusions of the sequel \u201cThrough the Looking-Glass\u201d another novel by the same Lewis Carroll, published in 1871. Both are novels full of symbolism, mathematical allusions and satire and contain the customs of England in the Victorian Age. Alice, in the real and in in her imaginary world, moves within scenarios in which plants are the main background. But it happens in the scene in which Alice is in the flower garden that flowers come alive and become characters of the story. This scene is inspired by the second chapter of the \u201cThrough the Looking- Glass\u201d titled \u201cThe garden of live flowers\u201d. In the novel, Alice comes up a hill along a winding path, that houses a flower garden populated by daisies, a weeping willow, a lily, a rose, a larkspur and a violet. The real work of exaltation of plant biodiversity is made in the film by Walt Disney where in a scene of about 5 minutes more than 20 flowers are presented. In the scene are clearly identifiable: Bellis perennis, Cestrum elegans, Chrysanthemum indicum, Convallaria majalis, Cyclamen persicum, Delphinium sp., Hyancinthoides non-scripta, Ipomoea violacea, Iris germanica, Leucanthemum 7superbum, Leucanthemum vulgare, Lilium candidum, L. davidii, Narcissus incomparabilis, N. pseudonarcissus, Nelumbo nucifera, Ranunculus asiaticus, Rosa indica, Salix babylonica, Syringa vulgaris, Taraxacum sect. Taraxacum, Viola odorata, V. 7wittrockiana and Zinnia sp. It is a real triumph of sounds and colours that leave the spectator delighted. The theme of the plants between knowledge and representation has been the subject of international meetings and scientific contributions. Studies about the representation of plants in pre-Christian (1), during the Middle Ages and in European art of the XIV - XVII have been done (2). In our case the plants drawn in Alice in Wonderland seems to belong more to the plants cultivated in the Americans gardens of during 1950\u2019s, when the film was made, rather than to the English gardens of the Victorian era where the novel is set. Nevertheless these drawings approach children, and the adults accompanying them in the vision, to the biodiversity of flowering plants cultivated. Offering to the spectator a wide representation of plants commonly grown with their shape and colours. Certainly, "Alice in wonderland" is a good example of how even cartoons, such as fairy tales, can play an educational role, as they allow the child to learn while having fun. In particular, this cartoon can be a good teaching tool for knowledge of plant biodiversity. In fact, it can provide many ideas for developing a number of educational activities to be proposed in both the kindergarten and in the primary school, intended to make understand even the youngest children the meaning and the value of plant biodiversity, as well as to know some plants and their growth environments. Therefore, it would be desirable in the future to take into account such aspects, uncommon in animated films for children. In consideration of the now urgent need to fill several gaps of knowledge, widespread in the younger generation (3) in respect of the plants and the environment in general

Results of the 12th “Iter Mediterraneum” in Tunisia, 24 March - 4 April, 2014

Are here presented the Results of the 12th “Iter Mediterraneum” in Tunisia, 24 March - 4 April, 2014. They include: The organization and logistics of the 12th OPTIMA Iter in Tunisia by Domina & al.; a bioclimatic and vegetation overview of the studied areas by Smaoui; the Checklist of the vascular plants collected by Greuter & Domina; a first Checklist of the Bryophytes collected by Campisi & al; a first Checklist of the lichens collected by Guttová & al