Article

An essential frame of the exotic omamental flora of Sicily, based on pre-linnean herbaria, literature and illustrated material, is presented with the aim of giving a picture ofthe human landscape and its plant heritage before 1790. As it is.know the omamental flora which characterized the baroque parks and gardens of Sicily - especially in the Palermo area - started declining when, in the first half of the XIX century, a great number of new exotic plants was introduced to Sicily and changed dramatically both agricultural and urban landscape. Such process was particularly increased by the Botanical garden of Palermo that, soon after its sening up (1790- 1795), spread several important groves and hundreds of subtropical decorative plants from the Americas, S. Africa and Australia. Most of them were implanted in the baroque pattern, following the new romantic trend of enriching floristically as more as possible the new gardens and parks. As a consequence the pre-existing characteristics ofthe baroque gardens were almost lost. Identification ofthe extant elements belonging to the plant heritage in question can be usefui especially for restoring purposes.