Carduus thracicus
Carduus thracicus (Velen.) Hayek
Asteraceae – Daisy family
Conservation status. Vulnerable [VU B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)]. BDA. Balkan endemic.
Morphology and biology. Biennial. Stems up to 100 cm high, diffuse arachnoid-hairy, winged; wings up to 5 mm, with broad triangular lobes and terminal, up to 2.5 mm spines. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, with 8–10 pairs of distant lobes; each lobe with a 2 mm long, terminal spine. Capitula ca. 1 cm in diameter, subglobose. Involucral bracts deflexed backwards, glabrous. Florets red. Achenes 3–4 mm long, compressed, finely tuberculate. Pappus 13–15 mm long. Fl. VI–VII, fr. VII–VIII. Insect pollination. Reproduction mainly by seeds.
Habitats and populations. In dry, stony places, on silicate, in the belts of xerothermic oak forests. Populations are mosaic, with tens of individuals.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Balkan Range (Eastern), Valley of Struma River (Southern – Chui Petel locality near Sandanski), Sredna Gora Mts, Rhodopi Mts, Thracian Lowland, Toundzha Hilly Country, Strandzha Mts (Slivarovo village and between Brashlyan and Dingizovo villages); up to 500 m alt.
General distribution. Balkan Peninsula (Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey).
Threats. Use of new lands for agricultural purposes, grazing, construction activities; low population densities.
Conservation measures taken. The species is protected by the Biodiversity Act and is included in 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants as “rare”. Some localities are within Strandzha Nature Park and in sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Monitoring of the state of the populations.
References. Amaral Franco 1976; Kovachev 1984; Walter & Gillet 1998; Sopotlieva & Petrova 2001; Grozeva et al. 2004; Petrova 2004.
Author: Svetlana Bancheva
