Nothoscordum nudicaule (Lehm.) Guagl.

Raab-Straube, Eckhard von & Raus, Thomas, 2022, Euro + Med-Checklist Notulae, 15, Willdenowia 52 (2), pp. 273-299 : 275

Nothoscordum nudicaule (Lehm.) Guagl. (≡ Allium nudicaule Lehm. ).

A Tn: Tunisia: Mahdia, Mahdia city near the market, 15 m, roadsides, many flowering individuals (c. 100 in 10 m 2), 18 Mar 2022, El Mokni (herb. El Mokni); Monastir, Monastir city near “Palais des Sciences”, gardens and roadsides, many flowering and fruiting individuals (c. 60 in 10 m 2), 22 Aug 2020, El Mokni (herb. El Mokni); ibid., 29 Apr 2022, El Mokni (herb. El Mokni). – Nothoscordum nudicaule , a taxon morphologically and cytologically closely related to N. gracile (Aiton) Stearn ( Souza & al. 2012) is reported here as a new casual alien for the flora of Tunisia and N Africa. Prior to this, N. ×borbonicum Kunth was found by E. Véla in October 2009 near Ariana and in April 2010 near Tunis ( Le Floch’h & al. 2010: 333–334). The recent record of N. gracile in Tunisia ( El Mokni & Hadj Khalifa 2020: 190–191) can be referred to N. gracile var. macrostemon (Kunth) Guagl. ( Zuloaga & Morrone 1996: 236; Hurrell 2009: 39–41, based on Guaglione 1972: 208–209, as N. inodorum var. macrostemon (Kunth) Beauverd ). Nuñez & al. (1974) advocated species rank for N. macrostemon Kunth. Native to South America ( Argentina, Bolivia, S Brazil and Uruguay, according to Guaglione 1972: 211–212; Zuloaga & Morrone 1996: 237; GBIF 2022c), N. nudicaule has a cupuliform-subrotate perianth and lanceolate-subulate filaments joined at their bases (for a detailed description, see Guaglione 1972: 209–211). In the Mediterranean Basin, the taxon has been reported so far only from NW Spain (Catalonia: Barcelona, Girona; Pyke 2019, 2022). In Tunisia, it is becoming a common weed of gardens, footpaths and roadsides. The species reproduces by seeds and vegetatively by underground bulbs. The easily dispersed seeds and the ability of the plant to sprout from its numerous bulbs and bulblets will presumably facilitate its future naturalization in many areas. In areas where N. nudicaule grows together with N. ×borbonicum Kunth (= N. gracile sensu Nuñez & al. 1974 ), many introgressive forms can be noticed ( Pyke 2019). An attempt at an analytical key to the different taxa of Nothoscordum introduced in the Mediterranean basin is given here, derived and amalgamated from Guaglione (1972: 196), Cabrera & Zardini (1978: 193), Ravenna (1991: 486) and Pyke (2019: 14, 16).