Calendula maritima. Picture extracted from the IUCN website (http://www.iucn.org/) © Anna Giordano for the IUCN's Top 50 of Mediterranean Island Plants, MIPSG-SSC. This image houses a link to the IUCN booklet. Please consult there the page 92-93.
The Sicilian endemic Calendula maritima Guss. was selected as one of the species to conserve through the SEMCLIMED/GENMEDOC projects, developed by the GENMEDA network. It deals with one of the most relevant endangered species of the Mediterranean area, included in the Top50 list of Mediterranean Island Plants(http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/mediterranean_top50_en.pdf) and the IUCN global redlist (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/61618/0). C. maritima only lives in a few selected sites of the province of Trapani, having its locus classicus in the Nature Reserve Saline di Trapani e Paceco; all the populations are considered as endangered including those of the nature reserve, due to the projected enlargement of the harbour of Marsala, close to the salinas.Dr. Angelo Troià, former director of the Nature Reserve and one of the most known botanists in Sicily, has fighted for years in order to obtain more protection measures for this species; in addition, practically all the Sicilian botanists and conservationists have claimed for the preservation of the species sites. Recently the councilior Mr. Salvatore Daidone proposed an amendment to the regional provisions, in order to engage more the public institution with the future conservation of C. maritima, even considering it as a province symbol for nature conservation. We are glade to announce that the President of the Province of Trapani, Mr. Girolamo Turamo, has sent us a letter confirming the approval of this proposal, which will add to endure the future for this species. Many thanks from oor blog, and long life for Calendula maritima!
Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendula_maritima
