Flora of Italy

The green leaves, white flowers and red berries of the strawberry tree, whose colors recall the flag of Italy: for this reason this bush is considered one of the Italian national symbols.[1] The strawberry tree, which is native to the Mediterranean region, is the national tree of Italy,[1] while its flower is the national flower.[2]

The flora of Italy is all the plant life present in the territory of the Italian Republic. The flora of Italy was traditionally estimated to comprise about 5,500 vascular plant species.[3] However, as of 2019, 7,672 species are recorded in the second edition of the flora of Italy and in its digital archives Digital flora of Italy.[4] In particular, 7,031 are autochthonous and 641 are non native species widely naturalized since more than three decades. Additionally, further 468 exotic species have been recorded as adventitious or naturalized in more recent times.

Geobotanically, the Italian flora is shared between the Circumboreal Region and Mediterranean Region. According to the index compiled by the Italian Ministry for the Environment in 2001, 274 vascular plant species were protected. Italy has 1,371 endemic plant species and subspecies.

  1. ^ a b "Il corbezzolo simbolo dell'Unità d'Italia. Una specie che resiste agli incendi" (in Italian). 3 October 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Il fiore nazionale dell'Italia (e quello degli altri Paesi del mondo)" (in Italian). Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  3. ^ Pignatti,S.,1982 Flora d’Italia. Edagricole, Bologna, vol. 1-3, 1982
  4. ^ Riccardo Guarino, Sabina Addamiano, Marco La Rosa, Sandro Pignatti Flora Italiana Digitale:an interactive identification tool for the Flora of Italy