Plant community, conservation and ecology of a wild species useful to humans but at risk of extinction in Italy: Lagoecia cuminoides L.

Abstract Lagoecia cuminoides L. is a minute plant of the Apiaceae family, extremely threatened in Italy, and of potential use for human consumption. Its ability to colonize territories with complex climatic and soil conditions allows it to be used in organic farms located in rural or marginal areas. For these reasons, its ecology, conservation, and plant communities were studied by multivariate analysis (agglomerative hierarchical clustering using the Flexible-β algorithm with the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index; Principal Component Analysis) across 2020–2023 period, recommending strategic actions that do not encourage its extinction. To better evaluate its peculiar ecological niche, the existing threats, and currently unknown conservation issues, the study focused also on other two annual plant communities with which it comes into contact. Habitat Directive 92/43 EEC was also considered, in which all the three vegetation types fall, of which two are new for science ( Hymenocarpo circinnati-Lagoecietum cuminoidis , Triticetum uniaristati-vagantis ).