Preliminary Study on the Genetic Diversity of Sicilian Populations of Crataegus azarolus (Rosaceae) and Their Wild Relatives for Conservation and Valorisation Purposes
Journal: Diversity
Year: 2025

Sicily, Southern Italy, has important genetic resources for azarole (Crataegus azarolus). The region hosts both spontaneous wild populations and various forms of the genus, some of which belong to well-defined specific or intraspecific taxa, while others are hybrids of unclear origin. Not all wild forms can be considered related to C. azarolus, but those included in the sect. Azaroli and thus C. aronia (= C. azarolus var. aronia), which is widespread in western Sicily, certainly can. All these p