Notes on the Vicia tenuifolia Complex with the Description of a New Species, V. barbatoi from Sicily

A new species from western Sicily (Italy), Vicia barbatoi, is described and illustrated in this paper. This taxon belongs to the wide V. cracca L. group, specifically within the V. tenuifolia complex. It is related to V. elegans, which is generally treated as an endemic species of the central–southern Italian peninsula and Sicily, whose distribution and taxonomic position are discussed. The morphological features of V. barbatoi are analyzed, and its more relevant characters are highlighted in comparison with the most closely related taxa through morphometric and statistical analyses. Besides seed micromorphology, karyology (2n = 12), ecology, distribution, and the conservation status of the new species are examined.