The occurrence of Brassica montana Pourr. (Brassicaceae) in the Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna and Marche, and in the Republic of San Marino

Abstract

Brassica montana Pourr., a wild relative of the Brassica oleracea L. cole crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.), deserves special attention for its potential to easily transfer agronomically useful traits to related crops. Monitoring existing B. montana populations is the first step to enabling long-term conservation and management of wild genetic resources. The main distribution area of B. montana extends along the coasts of the northern Mediterranean Sea from north-east Spain to north-west Italy (coast of Liguria and Apuan Alps in Tuscany). Further east and south, the distribution of B. montana is fragmentary, with isolated populations, in some cases, only observed in the 19th or early 20th century and never re-confirmed later. In this paper, we focus on all the B. montana reports for the Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna and Marche, and additionally for the neighbouring Republic of San Marino. Literature records were verified through field visits where possible. According to our analysis, the presence of B. montana is confirmed in the Marche and the Republic of San Marino, but not in Emilia-Romagna. We recommend further studies on the distribution of B. montana in Italy, also applying molecular means, beyond morphology, to distinguish B. montana from naturalized B. oleracea and other related taxa.