Three New Alien Taxa for Europe and a Chorological Update on the Alien Vascular Flora of Calabria (Southern Italy)

Knowledge on alien species is needed nowadays to protect natural habitats and prevent ecological damage. The presence of new alien plant species in Italy is increasing every day. Calabria, its southernmost region, is not yet well known with regard to this aspect. Thanks to fieldwork, sampling, and observing many exotic plants in Calabria, here, we report new data on 34 alien taxa. In particular, we found three new taxa for Europe (Cascabela thevetia,Ipomoea setosasubsp.pavonii, andTecoma stans), three new for Italy (Brugmansia aurea,Narcissus'Cotinga', andNarcissus'Erlicheer'), one new one for the Italian Peninsula (Luffa aegyptiaca), and 21 new taxa for Calabria (Allium cepa,Asparagus setaceus,Bassia scoparia,Beta vulgarissubsp.vulgaris,Bidens formosa,Casuarina equisetifolia,Cedrus atlantica,Chlorophytum comosum,Cucurbita maximasubsp.maxima,Dolichandra unguis-cati,Fagopyrum esculentum,Freesia alba,Juglans regia,Kalanchoe delagoensis,Passiflora caerulea,Portulaca grandiflora,Prunus armeniaca,Prunus dulcis,Solanum tuberosum,Tradescantia sillamontana, andWashingtonia filifera). Furthermore, we provide the first geolocalized record ofAraujia sericifera, the confirmation ofOxalis stricta, and propose a change of status for four taxa (Cenchrus setaceus,Salpichroa origanifolia,Sesbania punicea, andNothoscordum gracile) for Calabria. The updated knowledge on the presence of new alien species in Calabria, in Italy and in Europe could allow for the prevention of other new entries and to eliminate this potential ecological threat to natural habitats.