Italian flora

The flora of Italy was traditionally estimated to comprise about 5,500 vascular plant species. However, as of 2005^[update], 6,759 species are recorded in the Data bank of Italian vascular flora. Geobotanically, the Italian flora is shared between the Circumboreal Region and Mediterranean Region. According to the index compiled by the Italian Ministry for the Environment in 2001, 274 vascular plant species were protected.

Italy consists of a 1,000 km (620 miles) long peninsula extending out into the central Mediterranean, together with a number of islands to the south and west. The Apennines run north-south through the peninsula connecting the Alps in the north to Etna and the Peloritani mountains in Sicily in the south. The geology is diverse.

Northern Italy is dominated by the Alps and an extensive valley of the Po river which is extensively agricultural and industrialised.

Central Italy includes the regions of Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Lazio. It is dominated by the Apennines, from which a few major rivers flow. There are few natural plains. A process of land reclamation has replaced the coastal swamps and marshes with agricultural land.

Southern Italy includes the regions of Abruzzo, Molise, Apulia, Basilicata and Campania. Agriculture and industry are less developed.

The main islands are Sicily, Sardinia and the Aeolian Islands.

Each region has a distinct flora.

An ecoregion is an ecologically and geographically defined area with characteristic natural communities and species. Different ecoregions are distinguished by different vegetation features.

In Italy Carlo Blasi et al. identified and mapped two divisions (Temperate and Mediterranean), 13 provinces, 33 sections and approximately 80 subsections. Each unit has an alphanumeric code that indicates its hierarchical level and a full name that indicates its geographic location and main diagnostic factor.

The Temperate Division includes the Alps, the Po Plain, and most of the Apennines. It accounts for 64% of Italy. This area is characterized by almost absent summer aridity and by marked differences between summer and winter temperatures. The natural vegetation mainly consists of forests, with broad-leaved deciduous plants (Quercus, Fagus and Carpinus species).

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