A Note on the Flowering of Ajuga orientalis L. in Relation to Air Temperature in Mount Aenos (Cephalonia, Greece)

Abstract

Ajuga orientalis L. is a widespread plant species in many countries, such as Greece, Italy and Turkey, with promising aesthetic value in the field and in landscape design, but nothing is known about its phenology, from a detailed, quantitatively, point of view, in relation to meteorological variables. Thus, under the aforementioned context, the purpose of our work is the elucidation of part of the phenology of this plant, especially concerning its flowering. To achieve this, the phenological stage ‘Beginning of flowering’, in terms of its start dates (julian days), was investigated in relation to average air temperature (T) of March in two areas, Roudi and Kaboulieri at north-northwest and south-southeast slopes, respectively, of Mount Aenos, Cephalonia, Greece, for three successive years (2014-2016). From the analysis of the T of March, it was confirmed that Kaboulieri area was significantly warmer (P<0.05) than Roudi area by 0.8 oC both in 2014 and 2015, with a significantly earlier appearance (P<0.05) of ‘Beginning of flowering’ of A. orientalis in Kaboulieri, ranging from 9.1 (2015) to 10.9 (2014) julian days. The findings of our study could be used for the planning of an efficient preservation program process of the aforementioned plant species in a vulnerable mountainous environment, such as the Mount Aenos environment, as well as for its further exploitation as a decorative plant.