Wild geophytes of ornamental interest in the native flora of southern Italy

Abstract

The growing focus on the protection and the conservation of biodiversity has attracted attention to problem of the potential invasiveness of alien species that escaped cultivation spread in various types of habitats and might replace native species. This would lead to a loss of biodiversity and have negative economic and environmental repercussions. The Mediterranean flora is particularly rich in genera and species that are characteristic of different habitats, soil and climatic conditions, and can offer exciting opportunities for innovation in the floricultural industry. In this paper we test the qualitative and quantitative data of wild geophytic species with a focus on the peninsular regions of Southern Italy. Information regarding the attributes of each species was obtained from a number of published sources, including flora and plant checklists. This selection of geophytes belonging to the spontaneous flora of Southern Italy presents a potential floricultural interest in Italy, since these plants could be used as street furniture and for gardens and turfing.

Keywords

• biodiversity
• geophytes
• ornamental plants
• wild species.