Willdenowia 34
Willdenowia – Annals of the Botanic Garden and
Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem
ISSN 0511-9618
© 2004 BGBM Berlin-Dahlem.
Danin, A. 2004: Arundo (Gramineae) in
the Mediterranean reconsidered.
Willdenowia 34: 361-369.
doi:10.3372/wi.34.34204
Abstract
Finding the recently described Arundo hellenica in Italy
initiated a study on the identity of taxa related to A. plinii,
in the field, in the literature and in several herbaria. According
to the somewhat preliminary results, besides A. donax with
nodding leaves, three species with upright leaves are proposed for
recognition in the Mediterranean. Their distribution and ecology are
still incompletely known. A. plinii in its original sense is
shown to be a 1-2 m high riparian plant, so far confirmed to occur
in N Italy, S France and, perhaps, NE Spain. A. mediterranea is
described as a new species for the illegitimately named A.
mauritanica of Desfontaines, which has hitherto been erroneously
recorded as “A. plinii” and is a caespitose reed
with 1-5 m long obliquely erect culms that branch already in the
first year; it grows on alluvial clayey soils or high river terraces
along temporary water courses of N Africa, Israel, Cyprus, Greece,
Crete, Lebanon and possibly other East Mediterranean countries. A.
collina, including the recently described A. hellenica,
is the lowest (0.5-2 [-3] m) and most drought resistant Arundo of
the Mediterranean and forms monotypic grasslands on clay in
badlands, on hill slopes up to 300 m, on sides of newly constructed
roads, etc. and is currently known to occur in S Italy, mainland
Greece and Crete.
