Integration of morphology, genetics historical and ethnobotanical data: a case of an enigmatic Genista (Fabaceae) from Ischia Island (southern Italy)

The purpose of the present paper is to clarify the identity of a controversial population of Genista gr. ephedroides growing on Ischia Island (Campania, Southern Italy) and its biogeographic relationships with the endemic G. gasparrinii (Mt. Gallo, Sicily) and G. tyrrhena (Pontine and Eolian Islands, Central and Southern Tyrrhenian Sea), by employing a multidisciplinary approach involving both morphological and molecular characterizations, coupled with floristic and historical investigations. By employing both a morphological and molecular approach (sequencing of nuclear and chloroplast markers), the authors exclude a previous identification with G. gasparrinii and attribute the studied population to the similar G. tyrrhena subsp. pontiana, a recently described taxon, strictly endemic to Pontine archipelago (Latium, Central Italy). Finally, founding on historical, ethnobotanical and field evidences, they establish that this species of Genista has been introduced in Ischia after the Second World War by a political internee confined in Ponza Island during Fascism.