An updated inventory of the vascular flora of Elba island (Tuscan Archipelago, Italy)

Abstract

We present an updated list of the vascular flora occurring on Elba island (Tuscan Archipelago). The list is based on bibliographic analysis and field studies carried out in the years 2006–2018. With a total of 1,098 specific and subspecific taxa currently occurring on the island (including 101 naturalized aliens), plus 67 casual aliens and 16 hybrid taxa, Elba shows the highest number of species among the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago. Two taxa are new for Tuscany: Hieraciumsymphytaceum s.l. and Ophrysexaltatasubsp.morisii; 22 taxa are new for the island, 34 have been confirmed, while 326 were reliably recorded previously by other authors, but not confirmed by our study. We excluded 41 taxa and considered doubtful the occurrence of 87. Life forms and chorotypes are in agreement with the Mediterranean climate of the island. Despite this, Elba also hosts a considerable proportion of Eurosiberian taxa. We detected significant differences in chorotypes and life forms spectra among different geographical portions of the island, paralleling distinct bioclimatic patterns. Despite the institution of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, we are still far from an integrated protection of the island flora. Based on our results, it has been possible to arrange a geodatabase of the flora on the island, useful for its protection.