Centaurea pseudoaxillaris
Centaurea pseudoaxillaris Stef. & T. Georgiev
Centaurea napulifera subsp. pseudoaxillaris (Stef. & T. Georgiev) Stoj. & Acht.4, Cyanus pseudoaxillaris (Stef. & T. Georgiev) Holub
Asteraceae – Daisy family
Conservation status. Critically Endangered [CR B2b(iii)c(iii); C2a(i)]. BDA. Bulgarian endemic.
Morphology and biology. Perennial. Rhizome short; roots narrowly fusiform, 4–6(20) cm long. Stem branched, up to 15–25(30) cm, tomentose, densely leafy. Leaves tomentose, elliptical to linear-lanceolate; entire to pinnatifid; upper cauline leaves entire, exceeding the capitula, in a bunch. Capitula single, ca. 3 cm in diameter. Involucral bracts light brown, broadly triangular to sub-elliptical. Appendages decurrent to the base of the bracts, with dark brown rib and fimbriae with straw-yellow apex. Inner florets tubular, purple to dark pink, with purple anthers. Peripheral florets radiate, purple. Achenes 4–5 mm long. Pappus 2–2.5 mm long. Fl. V–VI, fr. VI–VII. Insect pollination. Reproduction by seeds, mirmecochoric.
Habitats and populations. In grassy places at the periphery of stony meadows in open, oak and mixed forests and scrub in the lowlands and foothill areas. Populations are with small number of individuals, with up to 200 fertile plants.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Thracian Lowland, Toundzha Hilly Country; from 100 up to 450 m alt. Recently the species has been confirmed in 3 localities – Besaparski hills and Ovchi Halmove hills, Pazardzhik district; Ayazmoto locality near Stara Zagora.
General distribution. Bulgaria.
Threats. Destruction of the typical habitats – xerothermic oak forests; extremely low numerical strength and low reproductive and migration potential; adaptation to specific habitat conditions.
Conservation measures taken. The species is protected by the Biodiversity Act. Some localities are within sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Elaboration of an action plan for the species and/or proclamation of a protected area; monitoring of the population state and facilitation of the reproduction in situ; collection of seeds for the National Seed Genebank in Bulgaria.
References. Stanev 1975a, 1979c; Bancheva 1999a, b; Bancheva & Raimondo 2003; Petrova & Vladimirov 2009.
Author: Svetlana Bancheva
