Leaves of Celtis australis L., near Navajas (Castellón, Spain) © E. Laguna, 2007Celtis australis –the European Hackberry- was choosen as one of the 8 species representative of the Mediterranean bassin eco-region, in order to develop the project FILMED. The election was made after the evidence of its distribution area, extended by all the areas with typical Mediterranean climate, mainly by the Western and Northern sides of the Mediterranean bassin.
Riverine forests of Celtis australis L. near Navajas (Castellón, Spain) © E. Laguna, 2007However, after consultation with several expertises from other Mediterranean countries, we noticed that C. australis could be an archaeophyte introduced in Central and Western Mediterranean from the Himalayan mountains and the Irano-Turanian area in ancient times, in order to obtain their benefits (wood, fruits). C. australis is still used around the Mediteranean sea as the main provider of wood and branches to make agricultural tools. The hypothesis of a primitive introduction from Eastern territories can be tested by the FILMED protocoles, if seeds or plant material from the possible origin areas is received.
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