Floristic notes update the status and regional distribution of alien plants in Italy

A floristic compilation documents naturalized alien-plant records, status changes and regional exclusions across Italy. This is a floristic compilation based on field observations, collected specimens, herbarium evidence and taxonomic revisions.

Records include locality, geographic coordinates, habitat, collection date, elevation and specimen deposition where available. The observations document particular sites and provide the evidence used to assess whether alien plants qualify as naturalized within regional floras. In Umbria, Abutilon theophrasti was changed from casual to naturalized alien status.

At Attigliano on the left bank of the Tiber, thousands of naturalized individuals were observed in late-summer and autumn therophytic communities developing in harvested cereal fields. The documented population supported the proposed status change for the regional flora. Asparagus setaceus was likewise reclassified from casual to naturalized in Puglia.

At Chiatona in Massafra, a well-established population included individuals of different age classes, new shoots and seedlings in disturbed vegetation, a sparse woodland and roadside habitat. In Sicily, Sesbania punicea was changed from casual to naturalized after a substantial population was found in the dry riverbed of Fiume Grande near Scillato. The plants produced robust seed and were actively colonizing the riverbed, raising concern about the often sparse riparian vegetation of Sicilian rivers.

Bidens pilosa was recorded along the SS18 near Acquafredda in Maratea, Basilicata, where the roadside population was described as particularly abundant. Ulmus pumila was recorded near Rivello in Basilicata along the SS585, where individuals of varying ages and sizes occurred in established populations beside major roads. Cortaderia selloana was documented in the province of Isernia, Molise, with the collected specimen taken from an olive-grove edge beside the road connecting Isernia and Fornelli; the authors also reported individuals in the municipalities of Fornelli, Isernia and Pizzone.

At Campobasso, a localized population of about 15 well-established, flowering Cyperus eragrostis plants extended for approximately 100 meters along a muddy roadside with hydromorphic, shallow soils. Near Termoli in Molise, Melia azedarach occurred in four groups spaced about one kilometer apart. Each group contained several individuals with basal shoots, and one group was fruiting when collected.

The authors proposed naturalized status for the species in Molise while noting that smaller individuals could have arisen from either seed germination or vegetative propagation. The notes also exclude Aloë brachystachys from the Italian alien flora because the reported Sicilian population was attributed to the horticultural hybrid ×Aloiampaloë delaetii . Lonicera biflora was excluded from the Campania flora because earlier regional reports were considered possible misidentifications of L. japonica , while the remaining Portici record had not been confirmed in the field or herbaria.

The authors formally published ×Aloiampaloë delaetii as a new combination for Aloë succotrina × Aloiampelos ciliaris . The conclusions are bounded by the nature of the evidence: the notes concern the reported localities and associated specimens and revisions.

Subject of Research: Regional records and status changes of alien vascular plants in Italy

Article Title: Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 19

Article References: Galasso, G., Domina, G., Bartolucci, F., Buffi, F., Ciaramella, D., Del Guacchio, E., Fogazza, T., Fontana, D., Giacò, A., Grasseschi, G., Landi, S., Manni, Q. G., Mascia, F., Mei, G., Mezza, I., Motti, R., Pazienza, G., Pirani, S., Quaranta, L., … Lastrucci, L. (2025). Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 19. Italian Botanist, 19, 155-165. https://doi.org/10.3897/italianbotanist.19.159457

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/italianbotanist.19.159457

Keywords: alien flora, Italy, naturalized plants, floristic records, regional distributions, plant taxonomy, nomenclature, herbarium records, Notulae, Italian, alien, vascular