Genetic diversity in the threatened Bellevalia webbiana (Asparagaceae) parallels functional and reproductive traits

Amongst the numerous Italian narrow endemic plants, the Webb’s hyacinth (Bellevalia webbiana Parl., Asparagaceae) is one of the most evolutionarily relevant, and threatened. The range of this bulbous perennial herb is restricted to an area of pre-Apennines (100–700 m a.s.l.) in Tuscany, and Emilia-Romagna (Central Italy), with two disjunct population groups. Typical habitats for Webb’s hyacinth are open fields, and meadows, wood margins, olive groves, and vineyards. During the last century, Webb’s hyacinth disappeared from several historical localities due to the development of human settlements. For these reasons, this species is currently listed in The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered (EN A2c). Despite contributions providing important information on the species’ reproductive and functional traits, no population genetic information was available so far. In this study, a DNA fingerprinting approach was applied to study the five richest populations of this species (each with N > 50 individuals): three in Tuscany (Pratolino, Uccellatoio, Tavarnuzze), and two in Emilia-Romagna (Casola Valsenio and Faenza).