Notes on the status and the current spread of Viburnum tinus L. (Viburnaceae) in Sicily (Italy)

Abstract

The authors carried out a multi-disciplinary research in order to clarify the native status of Viburnum tinus in Sicily and update the knowledge about its current regional distribution. With this purpose, a large amount of scientific papers on forestry, botany and palaeo- and archaeobotany was consulted; more useful data issued from papers focused on local historical gardens, from archives and from herbarium specimens. The available data suggest that most of the extant nuclei may issue from the recent colonization of plants introduced just few centuries ago. Although the status of the stands found in some warm and humid sites in the surroundings of the city of Palermo and on the Sicani Mountain Range remains uncertain, with no doubt the majority of the other populations, including the seven new ones mentioned for the first time in this paper, issue from the recent spread of this species in several coastal and inland areas, a process which has been facilitated by its efficient seed dispersal strategy and its massive use as an ornamental plant in the green areas of the island.