A review of the ecology and status of the Kerry Lily Simethis mattiazzii (S. planifolia) Asphodelaceae in Ireland

Darach Lupton,Micheline Sheehy Skeffington

doi:10.33928/bib.2020.02.309

Darach Lupton, Micheline Sheehy Skeffington

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.33928/bib.2020.02.309

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Abstract

The distribution, habitat and genetic diversity of Irish populations of the Kerry Lily (Simethis mattiazzii) are described. All sites known in 2009, centred around Kenmare Bay in SW Ireland, were sampled. The species occurs in a relatively uniform plant community, classified as 4030 Dry Heath within a low-lying coastal heath complex. A preliminary genetic investigation involving analysis of 21 chloroplast and nuclear gene regions revealed no genetic diversity in the samples examined, suggesting that the species in Ireland comprises a number of meta-populations, within one large, single population confined to the Derrynane area on the Iveragh peninsula in South-west Kerry (v.c.H1) and one on the north of the Beara peninsula, across Kenmare Bay from Derrynane, in West Cork (v.c.H3). A sixth site, at Cahergarriff on the south of the Beara Peninsula has since been discovered. Of the 5,750 flowering plants recorded in 2009, the biggest meta-population, which also had the highest plant density, numbered 2,364, on Abbey Island, near Derrynane. Results from two brief surveys in 2020 indicate that the populations have reduced in extent and size since 2009. The genetic results so far suggest that the species is genetically depauperate in Ireland, such that the Irish populations may in fact be only represented by a single, or narrow, founder genotype and may be the result of a one-off introduction. The potential mode of arrival of the species to Ireland is discussed in relation to trade with continental Europe, where its distribution is greatest in SW France and western Iberia. A follow-up genetic study is required to confirm these results and explore a putative point of origin for the species in Ireland. Conservation issues are addressed in the light of these observations.

Highlights

The Kerry Lily, Simethis mattiazzii (Fig. 1) is a diminutive, white-flowered member of the Asphodelaceae (Webb, 1980)
Distribution In 2009, four main populations were identified in south-west Kerry (South Kerry, v.c.H1); at Derrynane Harbour; on Abbey Island and on Lamb’s Head, all flanking the entrance to Derrynane Bay and in the Castlecove area c.5 km further east (Fig. 5)
The fifth population was in west Cork (West Cork, v.c.H3), on the north shore of the Beara Peninsula at Dereenacush

Summary

Introduction

The Kerry Lily, Simethis mattiazzii (Fig. 1) is a diminutive, white-flowered member of the Asphodelaceae (Webb, 1980). It is one of a group of plants that occur in Ireland, largely near the west coast, but are absent from Britain and are variously termed the Lusitanian (Scully, 1916), Pyrenean-Mediterranean (Praeger, 1934) or Mediterranean-Atlantic (Webb, 1983) element of the Irish flora. Simethis mattiazzii is largely a species of the south-western Atlantic region of Europe, where its main distribution is in south-west and western France (Tison & de Foucault, 2014) and on the northern and western part of the Iberian Peninsula (Martínez Ortega, 2014) (Fig. 2). The distribution is markedly disjunct when the Irish population is included, which is over 500 km away from the nearest population in Brittany, whereas its sporadic occurrences around the Mediterranean are more connected (Fig. 2)

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