Daphne pontica
Daphne pontica L.
Thymeleaceae – Daphne family
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B2ab(i,ii,iii)]. BDA. Pre-glacial relic.
Morphology and biology. Evergreen shrubs, 50–100 cm, branches spreading. Leaves obovate, 2–2½ times as long as wide. Flowers yellowish-green, in pairs on a common peduncle, arising from the axils of reduced, bract-like leaves at the base of the current year's growth. Sepals pale yellow, almost as long as the hypanthium. Hypanthium 8–10 mm, slender. Drupe ovate, black. Fl. IV–V, fr. VI–III. Reproduction by seeds.
Habitats and populations. Single plants to mosaic subpopulations in moderately humid forests, rarely in shrubs dominated by Fagus orientalis and Quercus sessiliflora.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Strandzha Mts; from 50 up to 700 m alt. Reported also for the Black Sea Coast.
General distribution. SE Europe (Bulgaria, Turkey), SW Asia (along the Black Sea coast), the Caucasus.
Threats. Timber production (cutting of beech and oak forests) and potential tourism development (building of tourism facilities).
Conservation measures taken. The species is protected by the Biodiversity Act. Subpopulations of the species are within the borders of Strandzha Nature Park and in a site of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Detailed study of the chorology, biology and ecology of the species, numerical strength and area of its subpopulations; long-term monitoring; collection of seeds for the National Seed Genebank in Bulgaria.
References. Webb & Ferguson 1968; Markova & Tcherneva 1979; Markova 1984.
Author: Dessislava Dimitrova
