About
85
Publications
32,608
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
848
Citations
Publications
Publications (85)
The genus Cachrys L., included within the Apiaceae family, has a wide geographical distribution. It has a fairly complex nomenclatural history as it is shared with two other genera: Hippomarathrum Link non P.G. Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb., and Prangos Lindl. Cachrys pungens Jan ex Guss. is a perennial plant growing primarily in the temperate biome....
Nowadays, secondary raw materials (SRM) obtained from plant matrices are of great interest for circular economy, suitable for sustainable measures to reduce environmental impact. This work focused on the extraction, characterization and quantification of compounds obtained from leaves and fruits of the Sicilian sumac, Rhus coriaria L. and their app...
The genus Thapsia L., belonging to the Scandiceae tribe of the Apiaceae family, is mainly distributed in the Mediterranean area, North Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula. The use of plants of this genus in popular medicine dates back to the age of ancient Greeks. In the present study the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of...
Agriculture faces great challenges to overcome global warming and improve system sustainability, requiring access to novel genetic diversity. So far, wild populations and local landraces remain poorly explored. This is notably the case for the two diploid species, Brassica oleracea L. (CC, 2n=2x=18) and B. rapa L. (AA, 2n=2x=20). In order to explor...
In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of two populations of Paeonia mascula subsp. russoi, collected in Sicily, was evaluated by GC-MS. No previously phytochemical investigation has been reported for this subspecies. The main components of the essential oil of the population with pink flowers were sal...
In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of a very rare Centaurea species, not previously investigated, Centaurea erycina Raimondo and Bancheva, collected in Sicily, was evaluated by GC-MS. The new species, classified just twenty years ago, belongs to Centaurea cineraria group (sect. Pannophyllum Hayek,...
Plants as animals are strictly associated with a cortege of microbial communities influencing their health, fitness and evolution. Therefore, scientists refer to all living organisms as holobionts; complex genetic units that coevolve simultaneously. This is what has been recently proposed as the hologenome theory of evolution. This exciting and att...
ISHS Acta Horticulturae 1384:
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1384.23
Genetic diversity in Mediterranean Brassica vegetables: seed phenotyping could be useful for sustainable crop production
Authors: M.H. Wagner, F. Aïssiou, F.W. Badeck, G. Deniot, S. Ducournau, A. Dupont, C. Falentin, L. Gay, A. Geraci, P. Glory, H. Hadj-Arab, A. Jarillo José, V...
The genus Pulicaria Gaertn. (Asteraceae) comprises more than ninety-two species as annual or perennial herbs or small shrubs, distributed in Africa, Europe, and Asia, and concentrated mainly in the Mediterranean region. Several species have been used in the traditional medicine of many countries. In the present study the chemical composition of the...
The genus Cytisus is native Canary Islands, Europe to Mediterranean, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and several species of the genus are used in folk medicine of different countries. In this work the chemical composition of the essential oils from the aerial parts of three taxa of this genus growing wild in Sicily, Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link, C. vil...
Agriculture faces great challenges to overcome global warming and to improve system sustainability, requiring access to novel genetic diversity. So far, wild populations and local landraces remain poorly explored. This is notably the case for the two diploid species, Brassica oleracea L. (CC, 2n=2x=18) and B. rapa L. (AA, 2n=2x=20). In order to exp...
The valorisation and conservation of plant genetic resources (PGRs) and wild fruit PGRs are critical to ensure the maintenance of genetic and cultural heritage and to promote new perspectives on resource use. New strategies to characterize PGRs are needed, and the omics approach can provide information that is still largely unknown. The Strawberry...
Jacobaea is a small genus of plants belonging to Asteraceae family, formerly joint to Senecio genus, that includes more than 60 species and sub-species. Several taxa of this genus have been extensively studied both for their non-volatile and volatile metabolites. In the present study the chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) from aerial pa...
The genus Capparis is a taxon of difficult delimitation that has several species and ecotypes due to its wide heterogeneity, its extreme phenotypic diversity, and the presence of intermediate forms linked to hybridization phenomena. The Sicilian territory hosts numerous wild and cultivated populations of two spp. Capparis spinosa L. and Capparis or...
Abies nebrodensis (Lojac.) Mattei is an endemic species of the north-west of Sicily located
in an 84 ha area in the Madonie Regional park. The relic population is limited to 30 relic adult trees
and a fluctuating number of juveniles of natural regeneration. The species is defined as “Critically
Endangered” in the Italian list of threatened plants a...
This work focused on the extraction, quantification, and characterization of bioactive compounds of Arbutus unedo L. fruits, comparing the results obtained from the different ripening states. Extractions were performed by different methods (such as maceration extraction and ultrasonic extraction) and food grade solvents (aqueous and hydroalcoholic...
The aim of the present study is to investigate the chemical profile, antioxidant activity, carbohydrate-hydrolysing enzyme inhibition, and hypolipidemic effect of essential oils (EOs) extracted from Sicilian Citrus maxima (pomelo) flavedo. Using gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS) we analysed the Eos of five cultivars of C. maxima...
Viscum album L., (Common Mistletoe), is a hemiparasitic shrub
that lives on a wide range of woody plant species, known since
Neolithic period for its ritual and for pharmacological properties.
Up to now, no investigation has been reported on the chemical
composition of the essential oils of V. album aerial parts in relation
with the diverse host tr...
In this work, seven Citrus aurantium essential oils (EOs) derived from flavedo of cultivars ‘Canaliculata’, ‘Consolei’, ‘Crispifolia’, ‘Fasciata’, ‘Foetifera’, ‘Listata’, and ‘Bizzaria’ were investigated. EOs were also combined in 1:1 (v/v) ratio to identify possible synergism or antagonism of actions. GC-MS analysis was done to investigate Eos’ ph...
IDPlanT is the Italian Database of Plant Translocation, an initiative of the Nature Conservation Working Group of the Italian Botanical Society. IDPlanT currently includes 185 plant translocations. The establishment of a national database on plant translocation is a key step forward in data sharing and techniques improvement in this field of plant...
La causa principale della perdita di biodiversità in natura è dovuta all’intervento indiscriminato dell’uomo, responsabile in larga misura dei cambiamenti climatici, della perdita e frammentazione degli habitat, dell’inquinamento, dell’introduzione di
specie aliene e del sovrasfruttamento o uso non sostenibile delle risorse naturali. L’Abete delle...
Monumental olive trees, with their longevity and their remarkable size, represent an important information source for the comprehension of the territory where they grow and the human societies that have kept them through time. Across the centuries, olive trees are the only cultivated plants that tell the story of Mediterranean landscapes. The same...
This book of 418 pages is a useful support for those who approach, with different motivations, the world of wild plants used as vegetables. It is organized in the form of cards, for the botanical part, which refer to 80 indigenous or exotic naturalized plants (archaeophytes and neophytes); however, the total number of plants mentioned for food purp...
This paper presents an operational methodology to map and analyze the floristic richness of “target species” in Natura 2000 sites, making use of G.I.S. tools and procedures. A Floristic diversity map (scale 1:50,000), covering an area of 612 km2, was produced by a team of experts as part of the management plans of “Madonie Mountains” Sites of Commu...
BACKGROUND
This study investigated the chemical profile and biological activity of Diplotaxis erucoides subsp. erucoides (L.) DC. (Brassicaceae) collected in Sicily (Italy).
RESULTS
Liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization and high‐resolution mass spectrometry (LC‐ESI/HRMS) analysis of the ethanol extract revealed the presence of...
Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.), a spice obtained by grinding whole sumac berries, is a complex natural product with a plethora of biological activities that can be favorably explored in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical fields. Sicilian sumac is herein chemically investigated by means of a combined NMR/HR MS-based profiling. A hydroalcoholic extract was p...
The present work was designed to identify and characterize novel antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from Charybdis pancration (Steinh.) Speta, previously named Urginea maritima, is a Mediterranean plant, well-known for its biological properties in traditional medicine. Polypeptide-enriched extracts from different parts of the plant (roots, leaves and bu...
The cosmopolitan genus Fraxinus comprises about 40 species occupying several habitats in the Northern Hemisphere. With some species hybridizing and sharing genetic variants, questions remain on the species assignment of germplasm within the genus Fraxinus despite numerous species-specific assessments. A multidisciplinary approach was employed to pr...
Background:
Since ancient times, man has learned to use plants to obtain natural dyes, but this traditional botanical knowledge (TBK) is eroding. In the late, during, and the early 1800s, there was an increase in research related to dye species, and this allowed the development of industry and economy in rural contexts of Southern Italy. Today, dy...
Microbial communities characterizing a specific food matrix, generally, strongly contribute to both its composition, and properties for food applications. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the cultivable microbial ecology of Sicilian “Manna” ash products in order to acquire new information on the hygienic quality, shelf-life...
Abies nebrodensis (Lojac.) Mattei (Pinaceae) is a species living in a very small population only in a confined area of Sicily. In this study, the dichloromethane extract of the leaves was analyzed. Apart from three already known metabolites namely dehydroabietic acid; maltol; and rheosmin, previously detected in other species of Abies, a lanostane...
Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. angustifolia is a plant with an age-old use for the production of manna. However, it is also a valuable source of fixed oil rich-seeds. In the present study we examined the chemical and biological properties of this oil in order to support a possible application in foodstuffs, nutraceuticals and cosmetics. Fatty acid co...
Although Ferdinando Bassi is the nomenclatural authority for the genus Ambrosina, the correct spelling of the name should be the Linnaean “Ambrosinia”. A lectotype is designated for A. bassii, the only species currently recognized. In addition, two lectotypes, two epitypes and one neotype are designated for other names of taxa currently treated wit...
Characeae is a taxonomically critical family. Taxonomical uncertainties
inevitably affect its distributional data. The role of herbarium specimens,
particularly types and original material, is crucial for unravelling taxonomical
‘knots’. Moreover, wet areas have undergone dramatic reduction and
modification in the last century and historical herbar...
p>Breastfeeding furnishes optimal nutrition, immune support, and a multitude of health benefits to mothers and newborns. Since ancient times plants have been employed as galactagogues in the folk medicine of many human cultures. In Sicily, a region with great floristic diversity in the Mediterranean area, where a conspicuous pool of species is trad...
The general increase of the cultivation and trade of Bt transgenic plants resistant to Lepidoptera pests raises concerns regarding the conservation of animal and plant biodiversity. Demand for biofuels has increased the cultivation and importation of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.), including transgenic lines. In environmental risk assessments (ER...
Background:
Wild vegetables in the Mediterranean Basin are still often consumed as a part of the diet and, in particular, there is a great tradition regarding their use in Sicily. In this study, an ethnobotanical field investigation was carried out to (a) identify the wild native taxa traditionally gathered and consumed as vegetables in Sicily, co...
One type of green roof whose function is ecological and environmental rather than aesthetic is the extensive green roof. Many studies have shown that Sedum performs very well compared to other hardy species in substrates of less than 10 cm. It seems that Sedum species are able to survive in very thin substrates; they tolerate extreme temperatures a...
A comparison between the current surface of Beech forest in the Nebrodi Park (Northern Sicily) with the measurements performed in the past is here reported. 12.854 hectares of Beech forest were recognized against 10.336 hectares of 1959 with a percentage increase of 24.37%. The increase of forest is mainly due at the change of land use through a be...
This research was carried out to better define the pollen, fruit and seed morphology of Ambrosina bassii, the only species of this rare Mediterranean endemic genus. Pollen traits were already known, but here we investigated on their variability in distant populations and in different morphotypes (‘varieties’). Fruit and seed traits were almost unkn...
The project Biovamed (Valorization of medicinal plants suitable to cultivation in the area of Castro and Barraù Mt.) is born in 2015 from the collaboration between the society Bona Furtuna LLC and the Interdepartmental Centre C.I.RI.TA. In particular, the project concerns: a) identification and assistance to the collection of plants of vascular flo...
In this paper we present the preliminary results of a study aimed at identifying the traditional uses of wild taxa in several communities of the island. Particularly the medicinal, veterinary and food uses are reported.
As activities of the project ”Preservation of Abies nebrodensis and restore of Geraci Siculo peatlands”, the chemical composition of essential oils, obtained from leaves of Madonie fir, was compared with the ones of essential oils derived from Eurasian species studied up to now
In this study, the orange peel of 12 cultivars of Citrus sinensis from central-eastern Sicily was employed to obtain essential oils and extracts. The ones were extracted through steam distillation, the others through extraction in hexane. Chemical constituents were evaluated in terms of qualitative and quantitative analyses by gas chromatography/ma...
Abies nebrodensis (Lojac.) Mattei (Pinaceae) is a species occurring in a very small population only in a restricted area of Sicily. Its taxonomic classification as different species has been object of discussion. In this work the chemical composition of the essential oil from the leaves is presented for the first time and compared to the essential...
Dal 18 al 19 giugno 2016, nei territori del Parco dei Nebrodi (Santo Stefano di Camastra) e del Parco delle Madonie (Castelbuono), è stato organizzato il primo convegno nazionale sugli alberi monumentali.
Il convegno è stato promosso dal Parco dei Nebrodi, dall’Università di Palermo (C.I.R.I.T.A. e Dipartimento SAF), dal Parco delle Madonie, dal Di...
Il territorio siciliano, molto diversificato orograficamente, manifesta caratteri
geopedologici, idrografici e climatici compositi che determinano
una grande varietà di ambienti. In essi trova condizioni ideali di vita una
ricchissima flora vascolare costituita da oltre 3250 taxa specifici e intraspecifici
(sottospecie, varietà e forme), appartenen...
Tackling the Sicilian woody vegetation as a case-study, this work aims to verify the correspondence between Rivas-Martinez's bioclimatic units and the main vegetation series in the Mediterranean region. Following this approach, one macrobioclimate and 25 bioclimatic type belts can be recognized in Sicily. By means of a geostatistical analysis based...
The Mediterranean Basin is one of the most significantly altered World Biodiversity Hotspots with extensive habitat loss and fast genetic population erosion, for which urgent biodiversity reconnaissance and preservation actions are required. In particular, Sicily has about 600 taxa classified as threatened or near-threatened. The correct recognitio...
Phenotypic analysis of Pyrus in Sicily using a set of 19 characters on 71 accessions belonging to 7 species is here reported. Results show a high level of morphological variation in this genus. Cluster analysis of the morphological characters allows to identify two groups: the first closely related to wild pears and the latter related to P. communi...
In this study pollen grains of 13 cultivars and 3 rootstocks belonging to 5 species (P. armeniaca, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. persica, P. avium) of the genus Prunus collected from North-East Sicily were examined for the micromorphological characterization through the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The length of polar axis (P) and the equatori...
To investigate the biosystematic and genetic relationships among Sicilian species of Genista sect. Voglera, four populations of three species, Genista aristata C. Presl, Genista cupanii Guss., and Genista madoniensis Raimondo, have been studied. Genista madoniensis is tetraploid, with a chromosome number of 2n = 48, as are the other two species. An...
Megaspore ornamentation is one of the few morphological characters used in the taxonomy of the genus Isoëtes. In the present work, we test the application of this character for distinguishing some Isoëtes species occurring in the Mediterranean: Isoëtes sicula, which according to some authors should be included as a variety in I. histrix, and the re...
Sorbus madoniensis, a new species of Sorbus sect. Aria, is described, so far known only from two neighbouring localities on Mt. Carbonara (Madonie mountains, Sicily). It is related to S. graeca, which also occurs in the Madonie, and indeed shares with S. madoniensis one of its localities.
Eight cultivars of Citrus aurantium L., showing peculiar morphological traits of the fruits and leaves, were analyzed genetically. Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) was chosen as molecular markers because they represent a highly efficient system for investigating variability at intraspecific level. The particular morphological traits were discuss...
A study of the hydrophyte communities of some small ponds in the beech-wood belt of the higher Nebrodi Mts is presented. A new association of shallow stagnant water bodies, the Utriculario-Potametum natantis, is described. Its biological structure, biogeographical characteristics, syntaxonomic position, phytosociological relationships and dynamic l...
A. nebrodensis (Nebrodi fir, Sicilian fir) is restricted to a small area of the Madonie Natural Park in Sicily. According to recent estimates, its only population consists of 30 adult individuals and a fluctuating number of juveniles derived from natural regeneration; besides, some hundreds of cultivated plants are preserved as ex situ collection....
The ploidy leveI or 15 populations of Scilla autumnalis L. was investigated in Sicily. On such basis, bot tetraploid and exaploid levels were found occurring in the study area, in addition to old and new other diploid populations. Furthermore, B-chromosome were found in the Favignana islet (Egadi archipelago, W-Sicily'). The results are discussed h...
Biogeographia vol. XXII - 2001 (Pubblicato il 1 ottobre 2001) Biogeografia degli ambienti costieri Rapporti fitogeografici fra i promontori carbonatici della Costa tirrenica della Sicilia FRANCESCO M. RAIMONDO, PIETRO MAZZOLA, ROSARIO SCHICCI-H Dip:zrtz'mem‘0 di Scienze Botanic/76, Universitiz di Palermo, Viz; Arc/aimfi, 28 - 1390123 Palermo (ftalia)...
In order to find new suitable characters in the taxonomic delimitation of the genus Quercus, whose hardness is well known, Quercus x fontanesii, endemic to Sicily, has been studied in comparison with its parents, i.e. Q. gussonei, wich is close to Q. cerris, and Q. suber. These taxa are here delimited as far as taxonomy, ecology, and Sicilian distr...
