''Narcissus alcaracensis'' is a species of bulbous plant that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s and

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. The

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) was an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected p ...

does not accept the name ''N. alcaracensis'', regarding it as a synonym of the widespread '' N. hispanicus''., search for "Narcissus alcaracensis" ''Narcissus alcaracensis'' has a very narrow range, found only in the

Alcaraz Alcaraz may refer to: * Alcaraz, Albacete, municipality in Spain * Alcaraz (surname), includes a list of people with the name * Alcaraz rug, Spanish rug design * Alcaraz Palace, ancient palace in Persia, built around 2000 BC * Villa Alcaraz, vi ...

mountains in Spain. It grows in marshes along with '' Carex hispida'', in streams and shallow lakes. Agriculture continues to threaten the species, with the only surviving populations in

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

Seed germination and dormancy

''Narcissus alcaracensis'' produces small seeds (about 4 mm long) containing linear, underdeveloped

embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...

s roughly 1.4 mm in length at dispersal. Before

radicle In botany, the radicle is the first part of a seedling (a growing plant embryo) to emerge from the seed during the process of germination. The radicle is the embryonic root of the plant, and grows downward in the soil (the shoot emerges from t ...

emergence can occur, the embryo must elongate to a critical length of approximately 3.3 mm—a process that unfolds during months of cold, moist conditions ( cold stratification) at around 5 °C. This requirement for both embryo growth and internal physiological change classifies the species as having intermediate complex morphophysiological

dormancy Dormancy is a period in an organism's Biological life cycle, life cycle when growth, development, and (in animals) physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolism, metabolic activity and therefore helps an organism to conserv ...

(a dormancy type requiring both embryo development and

biochemical Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, ...

dormancy‐breaking cues). Under laboratory conditions, freshly harvested seeds exposed to 5 °C in darkness for three to four months followed by incubation at moderate temperatures (15 °C by day/4 °C by night) achieved germination rates of up to 75–90 %. Seeds stored dry for 12–24 months showed faster embryo growth and higher germination percentages, indicating that dry after‐ripening reduces dormancy depth. In simulated natural trials, embryo growth commenced in late autumn as temperatures fell, with most embryos reaching the critical size by February; seedlings then emerged in early spring, synchronising establishment with favourable moisture and temperature conditions while avoiding summer drought and winter frost damage.

Conservation

''Narcissus alcaracensis'' is listed as

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

under

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

criteria B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,v), with an estimated

area of occupancy Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while ''surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-dimen ...

restricted to about 8 km² in two separate river basins of the Alcaraz Mountains in southern Spain. Only five localities are known, one of which has been

extirpated Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinctions. Local extinctions mark a chan ...

, and the remaining records lie in highly fragmented subpopulations vulnerable to ongoing declines in range, habitat quality and mature individuals. The principal threats include unsustainable water abstraction for agriculture, which dries out the marshy stream-side habitats on which the species depends, together with overgrazing by sheep and goats and the abandonment of traditional land-management practices. These pressures encourage invasion by tall helophytes such as ''

Phragmites australis ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. It is a wetland grass that can grow up to tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide. Description ''Phragmites australis' ...

'', reducing competition from low-growing

geophyte A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

s and further eroding habitat suitability. In addition, unresolved taxonomic confusion with closely related daffodils may hinder accurate monitoring and protection efforts. To safeguard remaining populations, water-resource management must be prioritised to maintain natural hydrological regimes, while

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

pressure and

trampling Trampling is the act of walking on something repeatedly by humans or animals. Trampling on open ground can destroy the above ground parts of many plants and can compact the soil, thereby creating a distinct microenvironment that specific species ...

should be controlled through the establishment of micro-reserves or fencing in key stands. The species already occurs within , and further site-level protection—coupled with regular population and habitat monitoring—is recommended.

Ex situ conservation FILE:Entrance to the Seed Vault (cropped).jpg, Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Svalbard Global Seed Bank, an ' conservation ''Ex situ'' conservation () is the process of protecting an endangered species, variety, or breed of plant or animal outside ...

measures are well under way: seed collections are held in national and regional

genebank A gene bank is a type of biorepository that is used across the world to store the genetic material of animals, plants, and other organisms. It preserves their genetic information in the form of reproductive material like seeds, sperm, eggs, embr ...

s, and living collections have been established at

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

s in

Albacete Albacete ( , , ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the area around the city is known as Los Llan ...

and

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

, where both seed-based

propagation Propagation can refer to: *Chain propagation in a chemical reaction mechanism *Crack propagation, the growth of a crack during the fracture of materials *Propaganda, non-objective information used to further an agenda *Reproduction, and other forms ...

and ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...

'' culture techniques have proved successful. Future efforts should include continued cultivation for potential reinforcement plantings, plus detailed taxonomic research to clarify species boundaries and ensure that conservation resources are accurately targeted.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1336123 alcaracensis Endemic flora of Spain Endangered plants Plants described in 1999 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot