First record of <i>Pancratium maritimum</i> L. (Amaryllidaceae) for the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Italy

Abstract

We report the first observation of the psammophyte plant species Pancratium maritimum L. (Amaryllidaceae) in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Italy. Four adult individuals were observed in spring 2023 on the residual dunes of Lignano Sabbiadoro municipality behind a beach resort. Although we lack genetic analysis to determine its provenance, considering the absence of locally cultivated individuals and the expansion of the species in the neighboring region of Veneto, with individuals located ca. 20 km from this reported observation, we believe that its arrival in Friuli Venezia Giulia should be considered a spontaneous spread of a new native species for the region. This finding indicates that the species now has a distribution extending along the entire Italian coastline.

Keywords

• Amaryllidaceae
• beaches and coastal sand dunes
• sea daffodil