The Genus Ephedra (Ephedraceae, Gnetales) in Tunisia: New Records with Taxonomic, Nomenclatural, and Conservation Updates

This study provides a revision of the genus Ephedra (Ephedraceae) in Tunisia, including taxonomic, nomenclatural, and conservation updates. The genus is represented in Tunisia by four species: Ephedra altissima, E. alenda, E. fragilis, and E. nebrodensis. The first one includes the two varieties altissima and wettsteinii, while E. fragilis is subdivided into the varieties E. fragilis var. fragilis and E. fragilis var. aurea. E. alenda was so far usually considered to be a subspecies of E. alata but morphological arguments and geographical separation are in favor of species rank. E. fragilis subsp. fragilis var. aurea is recombined here from the recently described E. aurea, so far known from Sicily only but reported here for the first time from North Africa. Further studies might show that E. alata and E. procera also occur in Tunisia. Along with the nomenclatural clarification of the taxa formerly reported from Tunisia including the lectotypification of E. altissima, E. alenda, and E. fragilis, all occurrences of the species in the country were checked and listed. An identification key is also given and supported by pertinent photographs. Conservation concerns are highlighted, particularly for E. fragilis var. aurea, threatened by habitat destruction due to urbanization and fires, and for the extremely rare E. nebrodensis. In a subsequent manuscript, the authors plan to extend the taxonomic studies to the North African Ephedra species occurring only outside of Tunisia.