Alchemilla mollis
Alchemilla mollis (Buser) Rothm.
Rosaceae – Rose family
Conservation status. Critically Endangered [CR B2ab(ii,iv,v); C2a(i)]. BDA.
Morphology and biology. Herbaceous rhizomatous perennial. Stems 50–70 cm, with dense, patent hairs throughout. Basal leaves suborbicular, 9 to nearly 11-lobed, appressed hairy above, with dense, soft hairs beneath; petioles 20–30 cm; cauline leaves numerous, hairy on both sides, with short petioles or subsessile. Inflorescence many-flowered; glomeruli lax. Flowers 3.5–5 mm in diameter, yellow. Sepals ovate-lanceolate; epicalyx segments linear-lanceolate, entire or with 1 teeth. Fruit a single achene. Fl. VI–VIII, fr. VIII–IX. Insect pollination. Reproduction by seeds and vegetative means. Resistant to drying. Population density is low.
Habitats and populations. Occurs in grassy and rocky places and screes, in the beech forests belt. Individuals grow in small groups or individually. One population is known and covers an area of 0.02 ha on eroded slope with southwestern exposure.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Balkan Range (central – in Kamenlivitsa locality beneath Rai chalet; in the past recorded near Vezhen chalet); 1150–1800 m alt.
General distribution. Europe (Bulgaria, Romania (East Carpathians)), SW Asia.
Threats. Limited distribution; low population density; collection for medicinal and ornamental purposes; trampling and specimens destruction by tourists; climate change especially warming and aridisation.
Conservation measures taken. Protected species according to the national Biodiversity Act. The population is within Central Balkan National Park, including Dzhendema Strict Nature Reserve as well as in a site of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria. The species is preserved in an ex situ collection at the IBER, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Conservation measures needed. Monitoring of the population state and reproductive potential; restriction of tourist hiking and shifting of tourist trails outside the species localities; if necessary, re-introduction of the species to its natural habitats with material from the ex situ collection.
References. Walters & Pawłowski 1968; Assenov 1973, 1984; Vitkova 1996, 1997; Kurtto et al. 2007.
Author: Antonina Vitkova
