Taxonomic features ofSesleria calabrica (Poaceae), a neglected species from southern Italy

A taxonomic study of theSesleria juncifolia complex in the Italian Peninsula is presented, with a focus on southern Italian populations here named asSesleria calabrica (Deyl)Di Pietro comb. nov. et stat. nov. Karylological, morphological and anatomical characters were used for comparative analyses with populations of closely related species, such asS. juncifolia Suffren andSesleria apennina Ujhelyi occurring in the Italian Peninsula. Multivariate and univariate morphometric analyses, and qualitative morphological characters showed a distinct position ofS. calabrica. Populations ofS. calabrica differ in respect to various morphological characters of leaf and spikelet, such as the glume, lemma and palea length, stem length, the leaf sheath, leaf width, leaf thickness, and the total number of vascular bundles. Furthermore, previous karyological studies demonstrated that all the populations of bothS. juncifolia andS. apennina examined are octopolid (2n=8x=56), whereasS. calabrica was found to be dodecaploid (2n=12x=84).S. calabrica is strictly confined to the Pollino massif and the Orsomarso mountains in southern Italy, which represent the southernmost limit of theSesleria juncifolia complex distribution area both in Italy and in Europe. In addition toS. juncifolia andS. calabrica, the recognition ofS. apennina as a taxon distinct fromS. juncifolia is supported, at least for the area of the Apuan Alps.