The bell-shaped germander Teucrium campanulatum L. (family Lamiaceae) is a perennial herbaceous plant occurring in the western Mediterranean (Algeria, Baleares, France, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Sicilia, Spain and Tunisia). Like all members of the genus Teucrium, this species is known for its medicinal properties and ornamental potential. Although T. campanulatum has not yet been assessed for the IUCN Red List, it is considered rare in Algeria, France, Italy and Spain. In Morocco, it is categorized as Endangered (Fennane, 2018, Tela-Botanica, Fascicule 7, Fagaceae–Lythraceae).
In March 2024, during a floristic exploration of the degraded steppe rangelands north of the Aïn Sefra region in Naâma, Algeria, near the village of Mékalis, I observed plants with a particular appearance, forming more or less compact tufts. They were growing in a small, fenced but abandoned daya (a shallow depression where water from adjacent land accumulates temporarily) at 1,250 m altitude. I identified the plant as T. campanulatum. This was the first record of the species in Naâma for 168 years. This new location is c. 80 km south of Taoussera Foukani near Aïn Benkhelil, where Cosson (1856, Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France, 3, 559–565) first recorded it in Algeria. The reappearance of this species underlines the importance of protecting steppe environments, including daya, which are becoming degraded, leading to a reduction in plant cover and the disappearance of food plants important for grazing animals and pastoralism.
Teucrium campanulatum in Mékalis, Naâma: (a) habit and (b) inflorescence. Photo: Belkacem Gordo.
My preliminary assessment suggests T. campanulatum should be categorized nationally in Algeria as Critically Endangered based on IUCN Red List criteria B1ab(v) (i.e. the extent of occurrence is < 100 km2, the population is severely fragmented or occurs in only a single location and there is a continuing decline in area and number of mature individuals). Further field studies are required to facilitate a comprehensive national Red List assessment of this species.
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