NATIVE MEDITERRANEAN CISTUS SPECIES FOR URBAN GREEN AREAS

The landscaping and gardening with native Mediterranean ornamental species of wild flora are a very interesting possibility to have plants largely resistant to environmental stress, quite frequent in the urban area. Cistus plants are evergreen woody shrubs and their blooms are profuse and attractive. They are natives of lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and five species are present in Sicily. A preliminary problem to improve plant utilization in urban green areas is linked to the individuation of the better nursery cultivation regimes. In this view on different Cistus species trials were carried out to individuate the suitable propagation modalities. In these species the heat generated by fire is a key germination stimulus. Also for this reason, in relation to untreated control, 7 different high temperature pre-treatments (from 70 to 130°C) for different period (from 1 to 10 minutes) were analysed in four Cistus species (C. creticus, C. crispus, C. monspeliensis, C. salviifolius) in relation to two sowing strategies (soon after the seeds collected and after 6 months at 5°C to simulate the effect of winter season). The high temperature pre-treatment can improve the germination; the storage at 5°C to simulate the winter season effects did not modify the germination process. In any case the results showed a species-dependent response. Better results were obtained with C. creticus, while low percentage was achieved by C. crispus and C. monspeliensis.