Page 13 - Theft on the Apennines

Scientific note

Primula apennina is a pink primrose species locally protected in the Italian regions of Emilia–Romagna

and Tuscany. It grows on earth crevices between 1400 and 2000 m above sea level along the mountain
crest of the Apennine mountains. Its flowers show two different morphs and produce seeds only if

pollen is transferred from one morphotype to the other, something that happens with the help of insects

visiting the plant in search of food. When insect pollinators approach the flowers to drink the nectar or
feed on pollen, they involuntarily get dirty with pollen grains which they then bring to the next flower,

ensuring seed production. Like many other species, flowers of Primula apennina are hermaphrodite,

which means that are both male and female at the same time.
Even though pollinators seem to be scarce in the area where Primula apennina grows, botanists

have discovered that the visits performed by the diurnal hummingbird hawkmoth Macroglossum

stellatarum during migration are sufficient to ensure pollination and seed production. However,
we don’t have to lower our guard! The potential mismatch driven by climatic change between

the flowering and the moth flight period still represents a potential threat for the species, so that
monitoring actions to ensure its conservation are very important!

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