Phytogeographic survey on the endemic vascular fora of the Hyblaean territory (SE Sicily, Italy)

A survey of the endemic flora of the Hyblaean territory, important
centre of biodiversity and speciation in Sicily, is presented. The endemic flora of this area consists of 105 taxa. Among them, 39 are included in the IUCN Regional Red List and 32 in the National Red List, 17 Orchidaceae are protected
by the CITES and 3 in the EU 92/43 Habitat Directive. The most represented
families are Asteraceae and Orchidaceae (17%), Lamiaceae (10%). A large
number of species are endemic to Sicily or central-southern Italy and Sicily. The
endemic taxa exclusive to the Hyblaean territory are 20. Life form spectrum of
the endemic flora indicates the predominance of geophytes (28.6%), chamaephytes
(26.7%), hemicryptophytes (24.8%). The analysis of the habitat put in evidence
that the endemics are widespread in garrigues, rocky walls and rocky
coasts, dry grassland, woods and synantropic places. In this work, ils also provided an assessment of the conservation statua of Hyblaean endemics and proposition for their protection.