Review of communities of Lygeum spartum L. in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula (western Mediterranean)

A study of south-eastern Iberian plant communities where Lygeum spartum L. appears has been carried out, considering the chorological units Castellano-Maestrazgo-Manchega province (Manchego sector), Baetic province and Murciano-Almeriense province. This kind of vegetation develops in areas where thermotypes range from thermomediterranean to mesomediterranean while ombrotypes oscillate from semi-arid to dry. In the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula, 12 phytosociological associations include L. spartum to a greater or lesser extent. The new association Limonio quesadensis–Lygeetum sparti García-Fuentes nova for the Hispalense sector (Baetic province) and the subassociation Limonio delicatuli-Gypsophiletum tomentosae limonietosum maji Salazar nova endemic to the Guadiciano-Bastetano district (Guadiciano-Bacense sector, Baetic province) are also proposed