Adaptations for the survival of perennial legumes in Western Mediterranean regions: Some promising native species of the Valencian Community (Spain)

The South-Eastern corner of the Iberian Peninsula contains a highly diversified flora as a result of a combination of several factors such as climatic and edaphic diversity, the presence of high mountains ranges and the proximity to North Africa. Leguminosae is the second largest botanical family in Spain, presenting a high richness, because it has a large number of endemisms, many of them with particular ecological, morphological and chemical adaptations. The Valencian Community, placed between S and E of Spain, contains over 350 Spanish endemic species. Sixty of them are exclusive endemisms of the Valencian territory and 31 belong to the legume family (Anthyllis, Astragalus, Genista, Ononis, Lathyrus, Colutea, Cytisus, Onobrychis, Medicago, etc.). Some of them have potential perspectives for a good forage development as Medicago suffruticosa subsp. leiocarpa, a native herbaceous perennial legume which has an excellent digestibility, palatability, resistance to direct grazing, persistence and reseeding capacity surpassing other commonly used perennial legumes. Also there are other potential uses with environmental application as restoration of slopes. Some assays done with Hippocrepis valentina, a suffruticous valencian chamaephyte, confirm these capacities. Another legume, a calcicolous therophyte Lupinus mariae- josephae, an endemism recently discovered, has a significant interest for genetic improvement in the genus Lupinus. The limitations of these endemic resources are the absence of scientific studies about its productivity and quality, genetic safety and toxicity as well as current legal restrictions because they are included into the Valencian Catalogue of Endangered Flora. We must not forget their climatic and edaphic adaptability to our territory, so it's expected they give best results in their ability to forage production, their environmental applications and in soil protection purposes.