Mentha deleoi (Lamiaceae): A New Species from Sicily
Francesco Maria Raimondo
TL;DR
A new mint species, Mentha deleoi, is discovered in Sicily and requires conservation due to its limited habitat and small population.
Contribution
The discovery and description of a new endemic Mentha species from Sicily with conservation recommendations.
Findings
Mentha deleoi is a new perennial herb species from Sicily with morphological similarities to M. pulegium.
The species has a restricted distribution and small population size, necessitating conservation efforts.
Chemical and ecological analyses were conducted to support the species' description and conservation plan.
Abstract
Mentha deleoi is described from Isola Grande, an islet in the Stagnone of Marsala (Trapani, NW Sicily), included within the homonymous Regional Oriented Nature Reserve. It is a perennial herb with an ephemeral annual cycle; in several morphological characters, it shows affinity with M. pulegium, a Eurimediterranean hemicryptophyte widely distributed in Sicily from coastal areas to high mountain habitats. Diagnostic and differential characters are provided, together with analyses of the biology, ecology, and chemistry of this new Sicilian endemic species. Owing to its extremely restricted distribution, small population size, and the potential impacts affecting the islet and its fragile habitat, resulting from centuries saliculture, a conservation plan is proposed, aimed at both in situ and ex situ protection.
Genes, proteins, chemicals, diseases, species, mutations and cell lines named across the full text — each resolved to its canonical identifier and authoritative record.
Click any figure to enlarge with its caption.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.
Taxonomy
TopicsMediterranean and Iberian flora and fauna · Phytochemistry and Biological Activities · Plant Diversity and Evolution