Article

The flora of Apuan Alps is rather known, as it has been studied sin ce 1700s and it is composed of 1922 species, 3.27% ofwhich are endemics to the region and 1.50% endemics to Italy. Our research represents the first contribution to the knowledge of the reproductive biology of the species of this region. As regards sex expression, hennaphrodite are about 90 %, monoecious 7% and dioecious 3%. H life fonn is the most represented (above 36%), followed by T and G. lune and luly are the months with a highest percentage of blooming species. Entomophilous species are the most represented and bloom during late springtime and summer, whilst more anemophilous species bloom in winter, autumn and early springtime. Passive dispersal of seeds is predominant (above 54%), followed by the anemochorous one. There are more dry fruits than the fleshy ones (only 10%). The most frequent type of dry fruits is the achene in dicots and the capsule in the monocots ; the most frequent fleshy fruit is the drupe. Fleshy fruits mostly ripe in late summer-early autumn, whilst dry fruit from springtime up to the winter.