Anthemis rumelica
Anthemis rumelica (Velen.) Stoj. & Acht.
Anthemis tenuiloba (DC.) R. Fern. subsp. tenuiloba var. rumelica (Velen.) Stoj. & Acht.
Asteraceae – Daisy family
Conservation status. Vulnerable [VU B1ab(ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(ii); C2a(i)]. IUCN(R), BDA. Bulgarian endemic.
Morphology and biology. Herbaceous perennial, with a vertical, branched rhizome. Stems numerous, 10–20 cm high, leafy in the lower half, appressed grey-hairy. Leaves 1-pinnatissect, long-petiolate, densely greyish and hairy. Capitula 20–25 mm in diameter, solitary on the stems and branches. Involucral bracts yellowish green, hairy, with pale brown hyaline margin. Ligules white, 8–10 mm long; tubular florets yellow. Scales on the receptacle oblong-lanceolate or ovate, glabrous, as long as florets. Achenes obpyramidal, 4-angled, ribbed, smooth, with a very short corona. Fl. IV−V, fr. VII−VIII. Insect and wind pollination. Reproduction by seeds and vegetative means (rhizomatous shoots).
Habitats and populations. Grows in rocky, sandy and grassy places in oak and beech forests. Population is strongly fragmented; fragments are isolated from each other, comprising scattered solitary individuals or small groups of plants.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Black Sea coast (Ropotamo River), NE Bulgaria (Madarsko Plateau), Forebalkan (Krapets and Smolyanovtsi villages), Balkan Range (eastern – Sinite Kamani Nature Park, Aitoska Mt), valley of Struma River (Blagoevgrad), Slavyanka Mt (Stargach Mt), Rhodopi Mts (eastern – Zlatograd, Kardzhali, Momchilgrad, Zhelezni Vrata locality), Thracian Lowland (region of Haskovo), Toundzha Hilly Country (Kazanlak, Topolovgrad, Omarchevo village, Sakar Mt, Sveti-Iliyski hills), Strandzha Mts (Dervent, Strandzha, Kondolovo and Fazanovo villages); from sea level up to 1000 m alt.
General distribution. Bulgaria.
Threats. Soil erosion; urbanization; road construction; limited distributions and small population sizes.
Conservation measures taken. Protected species by the Biodiversity Act. Included in 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants as ‘rare’. Some populations are in Sinite Kamani and Strandzha Nature Parks. Most localities are within sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Study on the reproductive biology of the species and the factors affecting the population size and, based on the results, adaptation of the conservation measures; collection of seeds for the National Seed Genebank in Bulgaria.
References. Fernandes 1976; Thin 1980; Kuzmanov 1984a, b; Walters & Gillet 1998; Bondev 2006.
Author: Lyuba Evstatieva
