Galium procurrens
Galium procurrens Ehrend.
Rubiaceae − Bedstraw family
Conservation status. Critically Endangered [CR B1ab(ii,iii)+2ab(ii,iii)]. BDA. Balkan endemic. Tertiary relic.
Morphology and biology. Herbaceous perennial with long rhizome and stolons. Stems 50−100 cm tall, erect. Leaves thin, in whorls of 6−12, oblong to broadly oblanceolate, glaucous beneath. Inflorescence a lax panicle. Flowers small, white, ebracteolate. Fruits of 2 dark brown, pruinose mericarps. Fl. VII−VIII, fr. IX−X. Insect pollination. Reproduction by seeds (fruiting of the Bulgarian population is somewhat limited) and vegetative means.
Habitats and populations. Grows in rocky, shady places, in shrubs and beech forests, on moderately moist, humus-rich soil on limestone. Population is small. Takes part in herbaceous communities together with Circaea lutetiana, Thalictrum aquilegifolium, Paris quadrifolia, Geranium macrorhizum, etc., usually at the beech forest margins.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Slavyanka Mt (Ambardere locality, mostly at the foots of the western slopes); between 1200 and 1400 m alt.
General distribution. Balkan Peninsula (Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro).
Threats. Grazing, trampling by domestic animals and people all have negative impact on the natural population reproduction and, together with rain floodsand soil erosion, threaten the species.
Conservation measures taken. Protected species according to the national Biodiversity Act. The locality is situated in Alibotush Strict Nature Reserve and in a site of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Research into the species’ biology of reproduction, population dynamics and ways of minimising the impact of the threats; assignment of an IUCN threat status at international level.
References. Ehrendorfer & Ančev 1975; Ančev 1984, 1989.
Authors: Mincho Anchev & Valentina Goranova
