Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Alchemilla L. (Rosaceae) in Tuscany, Italy

After extensive fieldwork and the study of herbarium specimens with reliable identifications, 35 Alchemilla species are documented as currently occurring in Tuscany. For A. glomerulans Buser and A. demissa Buser only historical data are available. Alchemilla polytricha Buser is a taxonomically doubtful species, very likely to be included within the variability of A. glaucescens Wallr. as well as A. hybrida (L.) L. The historical Tuscan samples of A. cinerea Buser should be referred to A. acutata Buser. The following twelve species are to be excluded from the regional flora: A. compta Buser, A. coriacea Buser, A. exigua Buser ex Paulin, A. fissa Günther & Schummel, A. flavovirens Buser, A. impexa Buser, A. leptoclada Buser, A. radiisecta Buser, A. sinuata Buser, A. subsericea Reut., A. trunciloba Buser, and A. vulgaris L. s.str. The most common species, and one of the few occurring also at altitudes lower than 1,000 m a.s.l., is A. glaucescens Wallr., followed by A. xanthochlora Rothm. Within species of the “A. alpina” group, the most frequent species are Alchemilla lucida Buser, A. saxatilis Buser, and A. alpina L. s.str. On the contrary, there are very rare species, often limited to one or few localities: A. crinita Buser (Pistoia Apennine, Val di Luce), A. cymatophylla Juz. (Pistoia Apennine at Sestaione), A. hoppeana (Rchb.) Dalla Torre (Pistoia Apennine above Butale), A. opaca Buser (Pistoia Apennine at Verginetta), A. straminea Buser (Pistoia Apennine towards Tre Potenze), A. strigosula Buser (Mt. Falterona), and A. subcrenata Buser (Apuan Alps near Carcaraia). Finally, the Tuscan endemic A. ceroniana was re-collected in the locus classicus, more than 100 years after its description. This finding allowed to detail a morphological description and to compare this species with closely related taxa.