213
Key words: Botanical exploration, 
Diploid Hieracium, Endemism, 
Plant conservation, Plant geography, 
Species Distribution Modelling. 
Ključne besede: botanične 
raziskave, diploidni Hieracium, 
endemizem, varstvo rastlin, 
rastlinska geografija, model 
razširjenosti vrst.
Corresponding author:
Gristina A. S
E-mail:  
alessandrosilvestre.gristina@unipa.it
Received: 2. 1. 2024
Accepted: 14. 4. 2024
Discovering hidden treasures: unveiling 
a new population of the narrow endemic 
Hieracium lucidum Guss. (Asteraceae) on 
the Mounts of Palermo (NW Sicily, Italy)
Abstract
The authors discovered a new population of Hieracium lucidum Guss., a species 
hitherto considered strictly endemic to Monte Gallo. Useful elements for the 
ecological characterisation of the new population are provided. The stretch of car-
bonate coastline between the Egadi Islands and the western portion of the Province 
of Palermo displays a very high wealth of valuable floristic elements and represents 
an unicum in terms of both phytogeography and ecology. Considering the extreme 
fragmentation of the distribution pattern of many endemic and exclusive species 
that characterise this district, as in the case of H. lucidum, the authors suggest 
upgrading the strategies to protect the local botanical heritage, going beyond the 
species approach and thinking on a wider territorial scale. 
Izvleček
Avtorji so odkrili novo populacijo vrste Hieracium lucidum Guss., ki so jo dosedaj 
za območje Monte Gallo obravnavali kot ozko endemično. Za ekološki opis nove 
populacije so prikazali pomembne značilnosti. Odsek karbonatne obale med 
Egadskimi otoki in zahodnim delom province Palermo kaže zelo veliko bogastvo 
dragocenih florističnih elementov in predstavlja posebnost tako v fitogeografskem 
kot ekološkem smislu. Glede na izjemno razdrobljenost razširjenosti številnih 
endemičnih in posebnih vrst, ki so značilne za to območje, kot v primeru H. 
lucidum, avtorji predlagajo nadgradnjo strategij za zaščito lokalne botanične 
dediščine, ki presegajo vrstni pristop in upoštevajo širši teritorialni obseg.
Pasta S.1, Gristina A. S.2, Marcenò C.3, de Simone L.4, Garfì G.1, Gi-
acalone G.5, Ilardi V.5., Kozlowski G.6,7,8, Scuderi L.9, Guarino R.5
DOI: 10.2478/hacq-2023-001123/2 • 2024, 213–219
1 Institute of Biosciences and BioResources (IBBR); National Research Council (CNR), Palermo, Italy
2 Department DISTEM, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
3 Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
4 Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Siena Italy
5 Department STEBICEF, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
6 Botanic Garden and Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
7 Natural History Museum Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
8 Eastern China Conservation Centre for Wild Endangered Plant Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai, China
9 Trapani, Italy
23/2 • 2024, 213–219
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Discovery of a new population of Hieracium lucidum Guss. and implications for 
conservation strategies
Introduction
The few so far known populations of diploid (2n=18) 
Hieracium species have long captivated the attention of 
evolutionary biologists, due to their central role in the 
evolution of polyploid complexes that are currently wide-
spread throughout Europe and beyond (Pignatti, 1979; 
Mráz & Zdvořák, 2019). These complexes, usually re-
producing by apomixis to various degrees, consist of nu-
merous more or less isolated populations with distinctive 
morphological variation, whose taxonomic interpretation 
does not always lead to satisfactory results (Fehrer, 2009). 
Consequently, the molecular study of species relation-
ships within such groups faces significant challenges, and 
diploid populations play a crucial role in reconstructing 
the evolutionary history of these complexes (Mráz et al., 
2019; Chrtek et al., 2020). Sexually reproducing diploid 
Hieracium species are very rare and occur mainly in refu-
gial areas of southern Europe, especially on the Balkan 
and Iberian Peninsulas (Merxmüller, 1975).
In Sicily, the hitherto known diploid populations of 
Hieracium are recorded from the limestone cliffs of the 
NW sector of the island (Di Gristina et al., 2015). In his 
original description Gussone (1825) did not mention 
the exact location of Hieracium lucidum. He later (Gus-
sone, 1844) reported its occurrence at “Monte Gallo”, a 
promontory located in the northern sector of the Paler-
mo Mountains (Basilone & Di Maggio, 2016), where it 
grows on N- to W-facing cliffs between 180 and 500 m 
a.s.l. (Brullo & Brullo, 2021), and “Vallone di Sferracav-
allo”. The exact location" of this valley remains unclear, 
and even assuming that it represents a distinct (second) 
location separated from Monte Gallo, it seems unlikely 
that it coincides with Vallone Cala, which currently falls 
within the municipality of  Torretta. A third locality, 
Monte Cofano, i.e. 58 km further west of Monte Gallo, 
was mentioned by Gussone (1844) and ascribed to the 
same species. This population was subsequently referred 
to a closely related taxon, described as H. cophanense by 
Lojacono-Pojero (1903), based on slight morphological 
differences: while H. lucidum is glabrous, H. cophanense 
has eglandular trichomes along the edge and the midrib 
of the leaf. Later on, a second population of H. cophan-
ense was discovered by Ottonello & Catanzaro (1986) at 
about 700 m a.s.l. on Monte Passo del Lupo, 9 km away 
from Monte Cofano.
In recent literature, the taxonomic treatment of these 
two species has been rather controversial. Some authors, 
including Geraci et al. (2007), Greuter in Greuter & 
Raab-Straube (2007), Aghababyan et al. (2008), and Di 
Gristina et al. (2015), propose treating them at the sub-
species level, while others, such as Gottschlich (2018) and 
Brullo & Brullo (2021), prefer to treat them as distinct 
species. Molecular analyses, carried out by Mráz et al. 
(2019), demonstrated that these two taxa have two ETS 
variants in strongly unequal amounts, but the dominant 
variant in H. cophanense corresponds to the underrepre-
sented variant in H. lucidum and vice versa. However, 
the same authors deem more appropriate to treat all the 
aforementioned populations as belonging to one single 
species, believing that sexually reproducing diploid taxa 
within the genus Hieracium deserve the application of 
a broader species concept, because the gene flow (either 
current or very recent) maintains intraspecific cohesion 
and hampers morphological and ecological divergence of 
closely related sexual lineages (Mráz et al., 2019).
In this short note, we report the discovery of a new 
population of Hieracium lucidum Guss., located approxi-
mately 3.5 km away from the population of Monte Gallo, 
a finding that points out the importance of the calcare-
ous-dolomitic mountain systems of north-western Sicily 
for the conservation of many endemic and/or exclusive 
plant species with an extremely fragmented distribution. 
We discuss the consequences of our discovery on the as-
sessment of the species risk level, as well as the need to 
extend conservation strategies from single biotopes to the 
level of large landscape units.
Results
The new population of H. lucidum was discovered in the 
municipality of Torretta (Palermo), within the Natura 
2000 site ITA020023 “Raffo Rosso, Monte Cuccio e Val-
lone Sagana” and includes two nuclei.
A first subpopulation, counting five individuals, was 
found in December 2023 at 220 m a.s.l. in a canyon 
called Vallone Cala. Four of these individuals, including 
the only flowering one (Figure 1) grow on a large block 
of rock that is part of a rockfall deposit on the canyon 
floor, partly spared by the fire. Here, H. lucidum forms a 
very discontinuous herbaceous assemblage, together with 
other Asteraceae such as Hypochaeris laevigata (L.) Ces., 
Pass. & Gibelli, Hyoseris baetica Sch. Bip. ex Nyman and 
Reichardia picroides (L.) Roth. The fifth individual grows 
instead in a cliff-dwelling community co-occurring with 
many rupicolous species typical of the Palermo Moun-
tains, such as Seseli bocconei Guss. subsp. bocconei, Silene 
fruticosa L., Asperula rupestris Tineo, Dianthus rupicola 
Biv. subsp. rupicola, Iberis semperflorens L., Euphorbia 
bivonae Steud., Brassica rupestris Raf., Centaurea panormi-
tana Lojac., etc. (see Brullo & Marcenò, 1979), and sev-
eral more trivial and generalist chasmophilous plants such 
as Centranthus ruber (L.) DC., Polypodium cambricum L., 
Capparis spinosa L. subsp. rupestris (Sm.) Nyman, etc.
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conservation strategies
Figure 2: Location of the narrow endemic plant taxa (see 
Table1) occurring in the north-western coastal sector of the 
Drepano-Panormitano district. MAR = Marettimo Island; 
FAV = Favignana Island; LEV = Levanzo Island; MSG = 
Mt. San Giuliano (= Erice) and rocky shores near Trapani 
and Bonagia; COF = Mt. Cofano; SVI = Capo San Vito; 
ZIN = Zingaro; INI = Mt. Inici; MLO = Montagna Longa-
Mt. Pecoraro-Mt. Palmeto; RAR = Raffo Rosso and Pizzo 
Manolfo; MGA = Mt. Gallo, MPE = Mt. Pellegrino; SMG 
= foothills of Mt. Grifone: Santa Maria di Gesù, Pizzo 
Sferrovecchio, Pizzo Crocchiola, Chiarandà; CAT = Mt. 
Catalfano, Capo Zafferano and Mongerbino. In brackets: 
local extinctions. 
Slika 2: Lokacije ozko endemičnih rastlinskih taksonov, 
ki jih najdemo na severozahodnem obalnem sektorju Dre-
pano-Panormitanskega distrikta. MAR = otok Marettimo; 
FAV = otok Favignana; LEV = otok Levanzo; MSG = Mt. San Giuliano (= Erice) in skalnate obale pri mestih Trapani in Bonagia; COF = Mt. 
Cofano; SVI = Capo San Vito; ZIN = Zingaro; INI = Mt. Inici; MLO = Montagna Longa-Mt. Pecoraro-Mt. Palmeto; RAR = Raffo Rosso in Pizzo 
Manolfo; MGA = Mt. Gallo; MPE = Mt. Pellegrino; SMG = vznožja Mt. Grifone: Santa Maria di Gesù, Pizzo Sferrovecchio, Pizzo Crocchiola, 
Chiarandà; CAT = Mt. Catalfano, Capo Zafferano in Mongerbino. V oklepajih: lokalna izumrtja.
After this finding, a systematic exploration of the cliffs 
and ledges of the surrounding area was launched in order 
to assess the overall size of the new population. Although 
a vast portion of the site appeared suitable for hosting the 
species, the whole area was severely damaged by a devas-
tating fire that broke out during the night of 24–25 July 
2023. This may explain why the field surveys carried out 
during the following weeks and until the end of December 
2023 allowed us to observe one single living adult (yet not 
flowering) plant growing at c. 350 m a.s.l. on the huge ver-
Figure 1: Three individuals of the new population of Hieracium lucidum (left); view of Vallone Cala with Monte Gallo in the background (right).
Slika 1: Trije osebki iz nove populacije vrste Hieracium lucidum (levo); pogled na Vallone Cala z Monte Gallo v ozadju (desno).
tical cliff hanging over the first nucleus. Nevertheless, we 
managed to find a second subpopulation, probably located 
in the uppermost suitable site of Raffo Rosso at 440 m a.s.l. 
Here H. lucidum grows on almost vertical (80–90°) N-fac-
ing cliffs together with other chasmophytes like Iberis sem-
perflorens, Asperula rupestris, Glandora rosmarinifolia (Ten.) 
D.C. Thomas, Dianthus rupicola subsp. rupicola and Hy-
pochoeris laevigata. This group of individuals occupied a 
very restricted area (c. 100 m2) and counted 5 adult and 2 
young individuals. Our discovery happened in winter, i.e. 
23/2 • 2024, 213–219
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Discovery of a new population of Hieracium lucidum Guss. and implications for 
conservation strategies
not the best season to perform vegetation surveys. Howev-
er, a preliminary check on the structure, composition and 
ecology of the plant community hosting the new popula-
tion of H. lucidum lead us to refer it to the same association 
described for the population of Monte Gallo, i.e. Scabioso 
creticae-Centauretum ucriae (Brullo & Marcenò, 1979). 
An updated distribution map of Hieracium lucidum s.l. is 
provided in Figure 2.
Discussion
Drone-assisted field surveys are needed for less accessible 
areas looking suitable for hosting the species and may al-
low a better assessment of the distribution and size of the 
local population of H. lucidum and an update of the con-
cerned risk assessment. On this purpose, during the last 
two decades H. lucidum has been evaluated as CR (Criti-
cally Endangered) by Gianguzzi & La Mantia (2006) and 
by Di Gristina et al. (2015), based on the IUCN criteria 
B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,v) and B1a+2a and C2a(ii), re-
spectively. Then its risk level has been downgraded to EN 
(Endangered) by Gianguzzi & La Mantia (2017). Howev-
er, to go beyond a simple update of the EOO and AOO, 
reproductive fitness surveys should also be conducted.
The karyological investigations carried out on H. luci-
dum (Merxmüller, 1975; Brullo & Pavone, 1979; Brul-
lo et al., 2004) and H. cophanense (Geraci et al., 2007) 
pointed out that both taxa are diploid with 2n = 18, so 
it is most likely that the new population, indistinguish-
able from H. lucidum s.str., is also diploid with 2n = 18. 
Further investigations should be carried out to analyse the 
genetic homogeneity within and between the four known 
populations and test whether or not, given the remark-
able genetic and morphological affinity, the intrapopula-
tion distribution of some allelic variants suggests ongoing 
microevolutionary processes, due to the current isolation, 
genetic drift and possibly founder effect.
The finding of the new population of H. lucidum is a 
fortunate but not entirely random event. In fact, the area 
of Vallone Cala was identified by a species distribution 
model (SDM) aimed at pinpointing the most suitable 
sites for the translocation of Ptilostemon greuteri (Gris-
tina et al., 2023), another narrow endemic species known 
from two populations in NW Sicily (Pasta et al., 2022). 
It is not surprising that a model based on occurrences of 
P. greuteri has led to the discovery of another narrow en-
demic species, as most of these species are often associated 
with microtopographic conditions that maintain a suffi-
cient level of humidity, enabling them to withstand the 
harsh conditions of the Mediterranean summer (Marcenò 
et al., 2022). As a matter of fact, the idiosyncratic distri-
bution pattern of these narrow endemic plant taxa, scat-
tered on the coastal mountains of NW Sicily (see Table 1 
and Figure 2), could be linked more to the scattered oc-
currence of stable climatic refugia (e.g., Harrison & Noss, 
2017; Keppel et al., 2018; Garfì et al., 2021; Finocchiaro 
et al., 2023) than to palaeogeographic causes.
Conclusions
The discovery of a second population of H. lucidum high-
lights once more the “puzzling puzzle” represented by the 
calcareous-dolomitic mountain system of north-western 
Sicily, including the Egadi Islands, the coastal mountain 
ranges of the Trapani province and those of the western-
most portion of Palermo province (Brullo et al., 1995; 
Raimondo et al., 2002; Guarino & Pasta, 2017, 2018). 
This new record confirms the ecological and phytogeo-
graphical unity of this area, whose promontories host a 
conspicuous number of endemic and/or exclusive species 
characterised by an extremely fragmented distribution, 
such as Erica sicula Guss. subsp. sicula (Pasta et al., 2023), 
Pseudoscabiosa limonifolia (Vahl) Devesa (Romano et al., 
1994; de Simone, 2020), Ptilostemon greuteri (Pasta et al., 
2022), Euphorbia papillaris (Boiss.) Raffaelli et Ricceri 
(Bajona & Spadaro, 2022), plus several closely related 
populations treated by taxonomists as vicariant species 
issuing from ongoing microevolutionary processes, as in 
the already mentioned case of Hieracium lucidum and H. 
cophanense or in the case of Limonium todaroanum Rai-
mondo & Pignatti and L. poimenum Ilardi et al. ( Ilardi 
et al., 2014), Anthemis spp. (Cusimano et al., 2017; 
Raimondo et al., 2021), Brassica spp. (Raimondo et al., 
1991; Geraci et al., 2001; 2004), Centaurea spp. (Scu-
deri, 2006; Domina et al., 2017), Helichrysum panormi-
tanum s.l. (Iamonico et al., 2016; Maggio et al., 2016).
This prompts further research into these cliff habitats 
and suggests to consider this district as a continuum (Brul-
lo et al., 1995), a fact that makes it not only ecologically 
plausible but also biologically sound and even desirable 
to create new metapopulations of the most endangered 
species in suitable sites within the same district. Such a 
strategy would increase the chances of dispersal and sur-
vival of plants that often have a very narrow distribution 
range, exhibit a low reproductive fitness and are increas-
ingly threatened by climate change and the intensification 
of disturbance factors like summer fires frequency.
Acknowledgements
We thank Audemars Piguet Foundation for funding the 
project aimed at the conservation of Ptilostemon greuteri 
that allowed us to develop the Species Distribution Mod-
el and to address our exploration activities. 
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Discovery of a new population of Hieracium lucidum Guss. and implications for 
conservation strategies
Taxon
M
A
R
FA
V
LE
V
M
SG
C
O
F
SV
I
Z
IN
IN
I
M
LO
R
A
R
M
AG
M
PE
SM
G
C
AT
Allium franciniae Brullo & Pavone X
Allium panormitanum Brullo, Pavone & Salmeri X X
Anthemis ismelia Lojac. X X
Anthemis parlatoreana Raimondo, Bajona, Spadaro & Di Grist. X
Asperula rupestris Tineo X X X X X X X X X
Brassica villosa Biv. subsp. drepanensis (Caruel) Raimondo & Mazzola X X X
Brassica macrocarpa Guss. X X
Brassica rupestris Raf. subsp. rupestris X X X X X X X X
Brassica villosa Biv. subsp. brevisiliqua (Raimondo & Mazzola) Raimondo & Geraci X
Bupleurum dianthifolium Guss. X
Calendula maritima Guss. X X (X) (X)
Centaurea aegusae Domina, Greuter & Raimondo X
Centaurea erycina Raimondo & Bancheva X X1 
Centaurea panormitana Lojac. (X) (X) X X X X X X X
Centaurea todaroi Lacaita X X
Centaurea tyrrhena C. Brullo, Brullo & Giusso X X1 X X X X X
Erica sicula Guss. subsp. sicula (X) (X) X
Euphorbia papillaris (Boiss.) Raffaelli & Ricceri X X X X X
Genista gasparrinii (Guss.) C. Presl X
Helichrysum panormitanum Tineo ex Guss. s.l. X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Hieracium cophanense Lojac. X X
Hieracium lucidum Guss.. X X
Limonium aegusae Brullo X
Limonium bocconei (Lojac.) Litard. X X X X X X X X X X
Limonium cophanense C. Brullo, Brullo, Cambria, Giusso & Ilardi X
Limonium flagellare (Lojac.) Brullo X X
Limonium lojaconoi Brullo X X X
Limonium panormitanum (Tod.) Pign. X
Limonium poimenum Ilardi, Brullo, D. Cusimano & Giusso X
Limonium ponzoi (Fiori & Bég.) Brullo X X X
Limonium tenuiculum (Guss.) Pign. X
Limonium todaroanum Raimondo & Pignatti X
Oncostema ughii (Tineo) Speta X
Phagnalon metlesicsii Pignatti X
Prospero hierae Brullo, C. Brullo, Giusso, Pavone & Salmeri X X
Pseudoscabiosa limonifolia (Vahl) Devesa X X X X
Ptilostemon greuteri Raimondo & Domina X
Ranunculus rupestris Guss. X X X X X
Thymus nitidus Guss. X
Table 1: Location of the narrow endemic plant taxa occurring in the north-western coastal sector of the Drepano-Panormitano 
district. MAR = Marettimo Island; FAV = Favignana Island; LEV = Levanzo Island; MSG = Mt. San Giuliano (= Erice) and rocky 
shores near Trapani and Bonagia; COF = Mt. Cofano; SVI = Capo San Vito; ZIN = Zingaro; INI = Mt. Inici; MLO = Montagna 
Longa-Mt. Pecoraro-Mt. Palmeto; RAR = Raffo Rosso and Pizzo Manolfo; MGA = Mt. Gallo; MPE = Mt. Pellegrino; 
SMG = foothills of Mt. Grifone: Santa Maria di Gesù, Pizzo Sferrovecchio, Pizzo Crocchiola, Chiarandà; CAT = Mt. Catalfano, 
Capo Zafferano and Mongerbino. In brackets: local extinctions. 1 = data from Scuderi (2006).
Tabela 1: Lokacije ozko endemičnih rastlinskih taksonov, ki jih najdemo na severozahodnem obalnem sektorju Drepano-
Panormitanskega distrikta. MAR = otok Marettimo; FAV = otok Favignana; LEV = otok Levanzo; MSG = Mt. San Giuliano 
(= Erice) in skalnate obale pri mestih Trapani in Bonagia; COF = Mt. Cofano; SVI = Capo San Vito; ZIN = Zingaro; INI = Mt. 
Inici; MLO = Montagna Longa-Mt. Pecoraro-Mt. Palmeto; RAR = Raffo Rosso in Pizzo Manolfo; MGA = Mt. Gallo; MPE = 
Mt. Pellegrino; SMG = vznožja Mt. Grifone: Santa Maria di Gesù, Pizzo Sferrovecchio, Pizzo Crocchiola, Chiarandà; CAT = Mt. 
Catalfano, Capo Zafferano in Mongerbino. V oklepajih: lokalna izumrtja. 1 = podatki iz Scuderi (2006).
23/2 • 2024, 213–219
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Discovery of a new population of Hieracium lucidum Guss. and implications for 
conservation strategies
Pasta S.  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4841-2560
Gristina A. S.  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8674-5051
Marcenò C.  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4361-5200
de Simone L.  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3055-136X
Garfì G.  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0466-4288
Giacalone G.  https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7347-6221
Ilardi V.  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5754-2711
Kozlowski G.  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4856-2005
Scuderi L.  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4344-5491
Guarino R.  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0106-9416
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