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Type: Article
Published: 2020-01-28
Page range: 95–108
Abstract views: 36
PDF downloaded: 2

Cytotaxonomical remarks on Loncomelos visianicum (Hyacinthaceae), a poorly known species endemic to Croatia

University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Botany, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Molecular Plant Breeding, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche ed Ambientali, Università di Catania, Via A. Longo 19, 95125 Catania, Italy
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Botany, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology and Ecology, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 2, Novi Sad 21000, Serbia
Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), Palermo University, Via Archirafi 38, 90123 Palermo, Italy
Dalmatia karyology morphology Ornithogaleae taxonomy Monocots

Abstract

Loncomelos visianicum, a rare and poorly known geophyte of the Croatian flora, was described from the remote and uninhabited Adriatic island of Palagruža as Ornithogalum visianicum, and it has not been collected again for over a century. Basing on living materials, recently rediscovered in the locus classicus, it was possible to carry out a careful investigation regarding the morphology, karyology, leaf anatomy, and ecology of this very peculiar species. It is triploid, showing 2n = 42 + 0–5B chromosomes, taxonomically quite isolated, showing some morphological relationships with L. narbonense and L. creticum. Currently, L. visianicum is represented by a low number of individuals growing in rocky places within the xerophilous maquis. In addition to a detailed description, a new iconography, conservation status and identification key for Croatian taxa of the genus Loncomelos are also provided.