Article

The ornamental flora of western Sicily was studied in an area which covers three provinces: Palermo, Agrigento and Trapani. A total of 95 towns and villages were visited and ornamentaI plants growing in the public green areas were studied. The omamental flora of this area reaches a total of 633 species, which be long to 120 families and 364 genera. Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Rosaceae are the best represented families, with a total of 38, 36 and 31 species respectively. Opuntia, with 11 species is the best represented genus, followed by Acacia, Prunus, Ficus, Quercus, Euphorbia, Agave and Salvia. A 24% of the Sicilian omamental flora com es from Asia, 22% from America, 16% from Europe, 16% from Africa, 7% from Australia and 1% from the Canary Island. Mediterranean flora is represented by only a 9% ofthe total number.