Astragalus nitidiflorus

Astragalus nitidiflorus is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family.It is endemic to Cartagena, southeast of Spain. It was refound after about 100 years of extinction and 'the reappearance of this species has awakened the interest of environmental managers because the reasons for its critical situation are unknown'.In 2004, a group of 46 specimens were discovered in a protected area between Cartagena and Mazarrón and plans for the conservation of this species have been implemented. ISSR markers helped to find that Astragalus nitidiflorus has a low genetic diversity. 'This species grows in shallow soil from metamorphic and volcanic rocks in between mountain and cultivated areas'. Astragalus nitidiflorus is arranged in five spatially separated populations with about two thousand specimens. To increase this plants population size a natural regeneration has to occur. Early in 2005 demographic studies about Astragalus nitidiflores identified roughly 69 adult plants'. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. This plant was first described in 1909, and was believed to be extinct. Most of the individuals are preserved in a protected area called 'Cabezos del Pericón', a Site of Community Importance included in the Natura 2000 ecological network. Astragalus nitidiflorus is endemic to the province of Murcia (southern Spain), where it forms the only known metapopulation worldwide. It is classified as Critically Endangered in accordance with IUCN (2001) criteria. Nitidiflorus: Latin epithet meaning 'bright with flowers'. The life cycle of A. nitidiflorus begins with seeds, which germinate in autumn and winter. In summer, leaves and stems die and only a few buds remain at the base of the stem at ground level. After the autumn rains, the dormant buds of the P1 plants that have survived the summer sprout and begin a second stage of growth. A. nitidiflorus is a short-lived legume that colonizes old fields on volcanic soils.Most seeds and fruits were distributed in the soil surface layer (Table S1), and, except for 2011, most seeds were found inside fruits. This is explained by the type of fruit of A. nitidiflorus, an indehiscent and hard legume that prevents rapid release of seeds, which remain some years inside the fruit. Moreover, the considerable size of these fruits (ca. 1.9 cm 0.8 cm) hampers their burial, and nearly 100% them were on the soil surface.