The rise and fall of Vicia calcarata Desf.

Abstract

The chief subject of this brief overview is a vetch species, once distinguished asVicia calcarataDesf. and currently regarded asV. monanthaRetz. subsp.triflora(Ten.) B. L. Burtt & P. Lewis, but we prefer to distinguish this taxon at species level asVicia calcarata.It is a volunteer plant occurring regularly on ruderal sites in the local floras of the coastal and maritime areas of the Mediterranean Basin, and sporadically happens to be cultivated in fields. It has a more robust growth habit thanV. monanthasubsp.monantha, with usually three flowers per peduncle and larger seeds, rather constant morphological traits. In situ and on-farm observations onV. calcarataare scarce, relating mostly to the southern mainland of Italy and its islands, Spain, North Africa and Syria, where it is found in forests, grasslands, wheat fields, ruderal soils and along roadsides. On a global scale, there are 91 accessions ofV. calcaratain six ex situ genebank collections in Alcala de Henares, Bari, Beirut, Gatersleben, Sadovo and St. Petersburg. In a series of ex situ field trials in Novi Sad, twelve accessions ofV. calcarataproduced average yields of 6.3 t ha(-1)of forage dry matter and 1100 kg ha(-1)of seed. There are promising perspectives for developing cultivars ofV. calcarata, since the available divergence offers a solid basis for crop improvement. After a long fall, a novel rise ofV. calcaratais yet to come.