Genista pilosa
Genista pilosa L.
Fabaceae – Pea family
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B1ab(ii,iii,iv)+2ab(ii); C2a(i)]. BDA.
Morphology and biology. Shrub up to 30 cm high. Stems branched from the base, with ± smooth bark, glabrous, spineless. Leaves simple, 5–12 × 1.5–3.5 mm, glabrous above, appressed-sericeous beneath. Inflorescences racemose, lax, 10–20-flowered, in the upper part of branches. Calyx bell-shaped, hairy, bilabiate. Corolla 8–12 mm long, golden yellow. Standard dorsally appressed sericeous-hairy. Legume 1.5–2.0 cm × 3.0–4.0 mm, oblong, densely sericeous-hairy, 3–8-seeded. Seeds lens-shaped, smooth, brown. Fl. V–VII, fr. VI−VIII. Insect pollination. Reproduction by seeds.
Habitats and populations. Grows in dry rocky and grassy places in beech or oak forests, usually in mountains.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Danubian Plain (Zelenka village), Forebalkan (region of Veliko Tarnovo), Balkan Range (western – Petrohan pass, Kom and Murgash peaks, etc.; central – Tetevenska Baba peak, Benkovski chalet, between Karlovo and Kalofer, Troyanski Balkan), Znepole region (Golo Bardo Mt.), Vitosha region (Zhivata Voda locality, Krapets village), Rila Mts (Kostenets); 500 to 2000 m alt.
General distribution. W and C Europe (except S Sweden, C Italy and R Macedonia).
Threats. The active mountain tourism, roads construction, grazing and trampling lead to habitat deterioration and have negative impacts on the populations. Fires represent a potential threat.
Conservation measures taken. Protected species by the Biodiversity Act. Some localities are within Central Balkan National Park and/or within sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Studies of the population state, reproductive biology of the species and the factors affecting the population sizes; based on these studies adaptation of the conservation measures; collection of seeds for the National Seed Genebank in Bulgaria; ex situ cultivation of the species.
References. Kuzmanov 1976, 1984a; Christov & Evstatieva 2001.
Author: Lyuba Evstatieva
