Articles

While alien organisms, vascular plants included, are progressively increasing their worldwide impact on habitats, the present research confirms a similar dangerous trend for Calabria, the southernmost and floristically richest region of Italian Peninsula. The set of additional alien taxa here recorded for the vascular flora of Calabria includes: Acacia melanoxylon, <i>Bidens </i><i>subalternans</i>, <i>Buddleja</i><i> </i><i>davidii</i>, <i>Cucurbita </i><i>moschata</i>, <i>Cyclospermum</i><i> </i><i>leptophyllum</i>, <i>Erigeron annuus </i>subsp.<i> annuus</i>, <i>Hesperocyparis</i><i> glabra, </i><i>Ligustrum </i><i>ovalifolium</i>, <i>Mahonia </i><i>aquifolium</i><i>, </i><i>Morus indica</i>, <i>Oenothera speciosa, </i><i>Prunus serotina</i>, Pyracantha fortuneana, <i>Rudbeckia laciniata, </i><i>Solanum </i><i>nitidibaccatum</i><i>, </i><i>Sparaxis </i><i>bulbifera</i><i>, </i><i>Tradescantia </i><i>cerinthoides</i><i>, </i>Ulmus pumila. These additional 18 taxa bring the total number of alien species from 382 to 400. The most represented biological forms are scapose therophyte and scapose phanerophyte with 5 species (27.8% of the total). The most frequent biogeographic origins of the surveyed species are North America (6 species; 33.3%), followed by Asia and South America both with 4 species (22.2%). The most common habitats hosting the recorded alien taxa are roadsides (8 species; 44.4%), although all surveyed plants have been found in deeply anthropized environments. The altitude of occurrence, extending 3 to 1,286 m a.s.l., together with other ecological data provided, demonstrate the ability of aliens to potentially colonize a wide range of environments in the region.