Chromosome number. 2n = 16 (Fig. 1)

Figure 1. 

Bellevalia webbiana Parl., 2n = 16. Metaphasic plate and haploid idiogram. Scale bar: 10 μm.

Voucher specimen. ITALY. Emilia-Romagna. Località Pergola, nei terreni dell’azienda agricola Lombardi (Faenza, Ravenna); margine di bosco mesofilo nei pressi di un oliveto, 144 m, 31 March 2016, F. Roma-Marzio, G. Astuti (PI).

Method. Squash preparations were made on root tips obtained from cultivated bulbs. Root tips were pre-treated with 0.4% colchicine for 3 hours and then fixed in Carnoy fixative solution for 1 hour. After hydrolysis in 1N HCl at 60° C, the tips were stained in leuco-basic fuchsin. For karyotype reconstruction, four metapahasic plates were measured the KaryoType software (Altinordu et al. 2016), which was also used to match homologous chromosomes among plates and to build a mean haploid idiogram. Karyotype asymmetry was evaluated according to the parameters suggested by Peruzzi and Eroğlu (2013).

Observations. Bellevalia webbiana is a species endemic to a pre-Apennine belt between the administrative regions of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, where it occurs in the hills around Florence and Faenza, respectively (Gestri et al. 2010). This species is known to be tetraploid, possibly arisen from allopolyploidy (Borzatti von Loewenstern et al. 2013). However, chromosome counts were available for Tuscan populations only (Chiarugi 1949, Capineri et al. 1979, Maggini 1972) and no data for populations occurring in Romagna were reported so far. Hence, our count is the first for B. webbiana in this region and confirms the tetraploid asset of the species. The reconstructed karyotype (Fig. 1) and, consequently, the asymmetry indices, i.e., CV_CL = 29.72 and M_CA = 31.08, are also fully congruent with those available in the literature for Tuscan accessions (Chiarugi 1949, Maggini 1972, Borzatti von Loewenstern et al. 2013).

G. Astuti, M. Ruffini Castiglione

Chromosome number. 2n = 96 (Fig. 2)

Figure 2. 

Genista tenorei G.Don, 2n = 96. Scale bar: 10 μm.

Voucher specimen. ITALY. Basilicata. Pollino Massif, Piano di Ruggio, 1 August 2016, L. Bernardo, L. Peruzzi (seeds collected in the field only; a specimen from the same locality, collected on 13 June 2013 by L. Bernardo, D. Gargano, is conserved in CLU n. 23782).

Method. Squash preparations were made on root tips obtained from germinating seeds. Root tips were pre-treated with 0.4% colchicine for 3 hours and then fixed in Carnoy fixative solution for 1 hour. After hydrolysis in 1N HCl at 60° C, the tips were stained in leuco-basic fuchsin.

Observations. Genista tenorei is endemic to Italy, limited to the Pollino Massif and belonging to the complex of G. tinctoria L. Genista tenorei is morphologically very similar to the SE European G. depressa M.Bieb. (Bernardo and Peruzzi 2016). This is the first chromosome count for this species. Instead, for G. depressa a single 2n = 48 count is available (Papanicolau 1984). Accordingly, our count seems to support the hypothesis of G. tenorei as a distinct species with respect to G. depressa. While 2n = 48 is reported for several Italian localities of the related G. tinctoria, reports with 2n = 96 chromosomes have also been published for this species from NW Italy (Forissier 1973, Cusma Velari et al. 2006) and Turkey (Esra et al. 2009).

F. Roma-Marzio, L. Bernardo, L. Peruzzi

Chromosome number. 2n = 12 (Fig. 3)

Figure 3. 

Linaria purpurea (L.) Mill., 2n = 12. Scale bar: 10 μm.

Voucher specimen. ITALY. Tuscany. Monte Calvi, (Livorno), near Villa Lanzi, 250–300 m, 22 May 2016, D. Fontana (seeds collected in the field only; a specimen from the same area, collected on 5 June 2010 by L. Peruzzi, G. Gestri, B. Pierini, V. Lazzeri, is conserved in PI).

Method. Squash preparations were made on root tips obtained from germinating seeds. Root tips were pre-treated with 0.4% colchicine for 3 hours and then fixed in Carnoy fixative solution for 1 hour. After hydrolysis in 1N HCl at 60° C, the tips were stained in leuco-basic fuchsin.

Observations. Linaria purpurea is an endemic Italian species ranging from Emilia-Romagna to Calabria and Sicily (Peruzzi et al. 2014). Our chromosome count is the first from Tuscany and is in accord with all the previous counts derived from populations occurring in Sicily, Calabria and Umbria (Bedini et al. 2010 onwards).

A. Carta, M. D’Antraccoli, F. Roma-Marzio

Chromosome number. 2n = 32 (Fig. 4)

Figure 4. 

Teucrium flavum L. subsp. flavum, 2n = 32. Scale bar: 10 μm.

Voucher specimen. ITALY. Toscana. Calignaia (Livorno), nella macchia, 57 m, 29 June 2016, F. Roma-Marzio (PI, Herb. Roma-Marzio).

Method. Squash preparations were made on root tips obtained from germinating seeds. Root tips were pre-treated with 0.4% colchicine for 3 hours and then fixed in Carnoy fixative solution for 1 hour. After hydrolysis in 1N HCl at 60° C, the tips were stained in leuco-basic fuchsin.

Observations. Teucrium flavum is an evergreen woody shrub whose range extends over the entire Mediterranean Basin, from the eastern coasts of Spain to Turkey (Lakušić et al. 2006). Teucrium flavum belongs to T. sect. Chamaedrys (Mill.) Schreb., including four subspecific taxa (Euro+Med 2006 onwards). The species within that section show different chromosome numbers, ranging from 2n = 28 to 2n = 96 (Özcan et al. 2015). However, all the previous counts for T. flavum report 2n = 32 (Rice et al. 2014, Özcan et al. 2015). In Italy, only two counts are currently known, from populations occurring in Sicily and Latium (Bedini et al. 2010 onwards). Our count is the first for Tuscany and confirms the only known chromosome number reported for the species.

F. Roma-Marzio