''Aquilegia nuragica'', commonly called Nuragica columbine, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

in the family

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, on the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

Description

They have a single vertical stem. Each division creates a set of three stalks. The flowers of this species are pale blue or white, consisting of five fused petals with its end having a hooked spur. ''Aquilegia nuragica'' is only found in one area of about at Gorropu, near

Urzulei Urzulei (Orthullè in Sardinian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about northwest of Tortolì. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of ...

. It grows on the nearly vertical

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

s, in a gorge along the Flumineddu River. It can occasionally be found on the sandy pebble substrate of the riverbed due to seeds being dispersed from the cliff. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is in Mediterranean shrubby vegetation.

Status

It is an IUCN Red List Critically Endangered plant species and IUCN Top 50 Campaign Mediterranean Island Plants, threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. The ''Aquilegia nuragica'' population is very small, with only 10-15 individuals that are believed to exist.

Threats

The decline in the plant's population seems to be due to natural factors, although due to the inaccessibility of the site, it is difficult to research the decline. It is not affected by grazing due to the plant's toxicity.

Conservation

This species is currently not under any legal protection.

References

External links

*
IUCN - Top 50 Mediterranean Island Plants: ''Aquilegia nuragica'' (Nuragica Columbine)
nuragica Flora of Sardinia Endemic flora of Italy Critically endangered plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{ranunculales-stub