The Forgotten Myrtle of the Alhambra Gardens of Granada: Restoring and Authenticating World Heritage Ruiz Rejón, Carmelo Herrán Moreno, Roberto De La Casares Porcel, Manuel Tito, J. Navajas Pérez, Rafael Molina Luzón, María Jesús González-Tejero García, María Reyes Sola-Campoy, Pedro Juan Gutiérrez-Guerrero, Alejandra Robles Rodríguez, Francisca Alhambra Microsatellite Mirtus communis In the Alhambra (Granada, Spain), and in other Moorish locations, several individuals of the original variety of myrtle, the emblematic plant of their gardens, have been identified and genetically authenticated. After microsatellite analysis, we differentiated between the wild form (Myrtus communis L.) and two cultivated varieties: the one original to the Alhambra, the Moorish myrtle (subsp. baetica), and the variety introduced in more modern times (subsp. tarentina). The genetic and morphological differences between these two varieties confirm the taxonomic distinctness of the subsp. baetica. With very few individuals known, this Moorish myrtle is on the verge of extinction. The genetic identification offers the opportunity to restore a key element of this 14th-century garden and enhance the authenticity of a World Heritage site. Departamento de Genética. Grupo BIO200. Facultad de Ciencias. Universidad de Granada 2024-01-22T09:23:58Z 2024-01-22T09:23:58Z 2016 journal article R. DE LA HERRAN, M. CASARES, F. ROBLES, J. TITO, R. NAVAJAS PEREZ, M.J. MOLINA LUZON, M. DE LOS REYES GONZALEZ TEJERO, P.J. SOLA CAMPOY, A. GUTIERREZ GUERRERO, and J.C. RUIZ REJON, “RESEARCH NOTES: THE FORGOTTEN MYRTLE OF THE ALHAMBRA GARDENS OF GRANADA: RESTORING AND AUTHENTICATING WORLD HERITAGE,” JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (JAST), vol. 18, no. SUPP., pp. 1975–1983, 2016, [Online]. URL: http://jast.modares.ac.ir/article-23-4559-en.html 20.1001.1.16807073.2016.18.7.13.3 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/87056 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ open access Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License