Aproximación a la checklist de los gipsófitos ibéricos

Abstract

Approximation to the Iberian gypsophytes checklist.
The close relationship between some kinds of soils and the flora growing on them has been long known. Gypsum soils stand as a prominent example of this relationship, since some plants exclusively grow on gypsum outcrops. Nowadays this close relationship is known as gypsophily and the plant species exhibiting it are called gypsophytes. As Cavanilles already found out in the 18th century, the Iberian flora is rich in gypsophytes. From then on many botanists have considerably enlarged the list of gypsophytes. However we still lack a more or less conclusive catalogue of the Iberian gypsophytes. Only some publications dealing with the gypsum flora or vegetation may serve as references for the drafting of a preliminary
catalogue. This idea has recently inspired a preliminary list of gypsophytes which has been later enlarged with the addition of new species recorded now and then in a number of specific Floras and other works of a general scope. On the basis of this list, 12 botanists adept at gypsum flora have been asked to rank the liking of these species for gypsum soils. The gypsophilous character of 140 species have been thus ranked on a scale ranging from 1 to 5
(with 5 representing an absolute liking for gypsum soils). According to the median values, some 50 species can be considered as either absolute or preferent gypsophytes.