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Globularia is a genus of small evergreen and perennial shrubs that are widespread in Europe. Globularia section Empetron includes a group of three species, G. cordifolia, G. meridionalis, and G. neapolitana, that have been taxonomically disputed for more than 150 years. Many morphological features have been proposed to discriminate these species. Nevertheless, evidence from both past and recent literature suggest that these differences among species are not consistent. In order to shed new light in this long-disputed group, we investigated 10 populations of the G. cordifolia species complex with both classical and geometric morphometrics and used environmental predictors in multivariate regression to explain patterns of variation. Our results showed that bract area and calyx teeth length are correlated with solar radiation and annual precipitation, whereas leaf dry mass per unit area can be explained by temperature seasonality. Leaf shape can be explained by temperature seasonality as well, although with a lower amount of explanatory and predictive power. Despite a comparatively low sample size in terms of populations, our results were based on a large number of individuals and were supported by a robust statistical approach. We can conclude that differences among the three species of Globularia could be related to the combined effects of several ecological variables and might not have taxonomical value. Our novel approach provided an ecological interpretation on a species complex that makes up a continuum of forms within the environmental framework of the Mediterranean basin.

The contents of some nutrients [Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Magnesium (Mg), Iron(Fe), Calcium(Ca), Selenium(Se), Zinc(Zn) and Sodium(Na)] and trace metals [Vanadium (V), Nickel (Ni), Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), Aluminum (Al) and Cadmium (Cd)] were determined in 30 cherry accessions from a farm for collections of Campania Region. Data have highlighted a high nutrient contents in the local accessions and often higher than commercial ones. In particular, it was observed that the Bologna accession showed higher contents of P, Mg, K and Se, and also high concentrations of Ca, Na, Zn, Fe. Moreover, they are of a good quality because the concentrations of trace metals, commonly found as pollutants in the environments, did not exceed, where provided, the law limits imposed.

The concentration of six different trace metals [vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd)] were determined in various fruit and vegetables [peach (Prunus persica L.), plum (Prunus domestica L.), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), courgette or marrow (Cucurbita pepo L.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)] provided by diverse farms. Metal distribution was also separately evaluated, in skin and pulp, where it was possible. Their contributions to human daily intake of trace metals were investigated. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine the concentrations of these metals in the fruit and vegetables. All traces of elements tested in peaches and tomatoes were higher in the skin than in the pulp except for Cd in the peaches; all traces of elements tested in plums and marrows were higher in the pulp than in the skin. The concentrations of Pb and Cd in lettuce were 1.3 and 2.7 times above the permissible levels, respectively. It is concluded that the regular monitoring of food trace metals is very important to prevent diseases that depend on their excessive accumulation in the human food chain.