Sicily: the island that didn't know to be an archipelago

Abstract

Recent geological studies demonstrated that most of Sicily was still under water during lower Pliocene, with the exception of the NE and the SE corners of the island (Peloritani Mts and Hyblaean Plateau, respectively). This geological evidence, so far not considered sufficiently by the scholars of the Sicilian flora, poses many still open questions on how and where many ancient lineages and Palaeogene relicts, currently found on the island, managed to survive. Purpose of this paper is to review the potential significance of isolation and ecological differentiation for the local floristic diversity and the evolution of narrow endemism in the Sicilian flora. In particular, the following drivers of Sicilian floristic patterns are considered: geographical segregation and age of the Sicilian terrains; climate variability and heterogeneity; geological patchiness; human influence on habitat fragmentation.