Elymus pycnanthus
Elymus pycnanthus (Godr.) Melderis
Agropyron litorale (Host) Dumort.1, 3, Elytrigia pycnantha (Godr.) Löve
Poaceae – Grass family
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B2ab(ii,iii,iv)c(ii,iii)]. BDA.
Morphology and biology. Rhizomatous, perennial, herbaceous plant. Leaves 2–6 mm wide, flat or enrolled, veins dense, prominent, rough on the ribs from above, smooth below; sheaths of the lower leaves ciliate. Ligule short. Spike 5–20 cm, axis scabrid. Spikelets 10–20 mm long, with (3)5–7 flowers. Glumes elongate lanceolate, 8–10 mm long, with 5–7 veins and pronounced, often scabrid midrib. Lemma 7–11 mm long, with dorsal keel at the top, blunt or with an awn. Palea shortly ciliate on the midrib. Fl. VI–VII, fr. VIII–IX. Reproduction by seeds and vegetatively.
Habitats and populations. Coastal sands of the Black Sea littoral. Psammophilous, mesophytic plant. The population is fragmented and with rather limited extent.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Black Sea Coast (Northern – Obzor, Southern – Slanchev Bryag, Nesebar, Ravda, Pomorie, Poda, Tsiganski Pristan, Sozopol, Kavatsite, Ropotamo River, Maslen Nos Cape, Primorsko).
General distribution. Mediterranean region, W Europe.
Threats. Dramatic changes in the species favoured habitat due to intensive tourism, urban development and domestic waste pollution.
Conservation measures taken. For protection of the habitats of the species the Biological Diversity Act requires establishment of protected areas in accordance with the regulations of the Protected Areas Act. The population in Kavatsite locality is under protection in Pyasachna Lilia Nature Reserve. Some of the localities are within sites of the European Ecological Network Natura 2000.
Conservation measures needed. Further survey of the extent of the population and inclusion of the species in the National System for Biodiversity Monitoring. Conservation of the species habitats. Supporting the population by artificial vegetative propagation.
Note. Old herbarium specimens and reports in the literature are available also from the Thracian Lowland but apparently the species is now extinct there.
References. Jordanov 1928, 1929b; Georgiev & Kitanov 1939; Kitanov 1963; Bondev & Radenkova 1969; Popova 1972; Kozhuharov et al. 1983; Kozhuharov 1984, 1986, 1992a; Meshinev et al. 1994; Vladimirov & Petrova 2010.
Authors: Cvetomir M. Denchev, Boris Assyov
