The Italian territory extends over about 10° of latitude, therefore, while remaining in the context of temperate climates without extremes of heat, cold or aridity, the climatic difference between the north and the south of the country is not at all negligible, going from the nival climates of the Alpine peaks, to the cool semi-continental temperate climate of the Po Valley, to the Mediterranean climate of the central-southern coasts and the islands. During the Pleistocene glaciations, the Italian territory remained largely free of ice, which allowed the flora and fauna to survive, something that did not happen in the central-northern areas of the continent, and the retreat of the great glaciers has left glacial relict fauna in some mountain locations. Italy is one of the richest European countries in both plant and animal biodiversity, with a population very rich in endemic forms. Italy has 1,371 endemic plant species and subspecies.īarbaricina columbine, endemic to Sardinia According to the index compiled by the Italian Ministry for the Environment in 2001, 274 vascular plant species were protected. Geobotanically, the Italian flora is shared between the Circumboreal Region and Mediterranean Region. Additionally, further 468 exotic species have been recorded as adventitious or naturalized in more recent times. In particular, 7,031 are autochthonous and 641 are non native species widely naturalized since more than three decades. However, as of 2019, 7,672 species are recorded in the second edition of the flora of Italy and in its digital archives Digital flora of Italy. The flora of Italy was traditionally estimated to comprise about 5,500 vascular plant species. The flora of Italy is all the plant life present in the territory of the Italian Republic. The strawberry tree, which is native to the Mediterranean region, is the national tree of Italy. The green leaves, white flowers and red berries of the strawberry tree, whose colors recall the flag of Italy: for this reason this bush is considered one of the Italian national symbols.
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