Vitis ×goliath

Ardenghi, Nicola M. G. & Cauzzi, Paolo, 2015, Alien grapes (Vitis, Vitaceae) in Sicily (Italy): novelties for the Sicilian and Mediterranean flora, Natural History Sciences 2 (2), pp. 137-148 : 138-139

Vitis ×goliath �rdenghi, Galasso & Banfi, Phytotaxa, 224

(3): 241. 2015.

(= V. riparia Michx. × V. rupestris Scheele × V. vinifera L.)

New neophyte to the flora of Sicily.

Distribution. Rare, recorded from only two localities in the provinces of Catania and Messina ( Fig. 1 ).

Habitat. Waste land, walls; 89-371 m.

Invasion status. Naturalized.

Use. In Sicily, as in other parts of Italy, this complex hybrid is exclusively employed as rootstock. A single cultivar is officially planted, ‘Golia’, obtained by Italian agronomists at the beginning of the 20 th century. Vigorous and well-adapted to compact and calcareous soils, it has been introduced in Sicily around the 1950’s ( Rossi, 1955; Galet, 1988; Eynard & Dalmasso, 1990; �rdenghi et al., 2015a).

Notes. Unlike other populations from Italy (Ardenghi et al., 2015a), no flower and fruit production has been observed.

Specimina visa

ITALY. Sicily. Prov. Catania: Acireale, Santa Maria delle Grazie, via Nazionale per Catania, lato E, tra via delle Palme e via Volano (UTM WGS84: 33 S 514705.4160205), 89 m, no exp., incolto con Olea europaea , Daucus carota , Verbascum sinuatum , 12.06.2015, N. Ardenghi & P. Cauzzi 95 ( MSNM). Prov. Messina: Ficarra, SP 145, lato SW, San Mauro (UTM WGS84: 33 S 484174.4218817), 371 m, NE, sommità di parete in cemento, 12.06.2015, N. Ardenghi & P. Cauzzi 79 ( MSNM).

Figures

Fig. 1 - Geographical distribution in Sicily of Vitis rupestris (red dots), Vitis ×goliath (green dots), and Vitis ×ruggerii (blue dots).