Helodium blandowii
Helodium blandowii (F. Weber & D. Mohr) Warnst.
Helodiaceae
Conservation status. Critically Endangered [CR B2ab(iii)].
Morphology and biology. Perennial moss. Primary stem stoloniform, secondary stems erect, pinnately branched, clothed with dense rhizoids and branched thread-like and smooth paraphyllia. Stem leaves broadly ovate, shortly tapering to a narrow point, with longitudinal folds, and with narrow recurved teeth on leaf margins. Branch leaves similar to stem ones but smaller. Sporophytes cylindrical, inclined, on smooth 3–5 cm high stalk. Bisexual.
Habitats and populations. Plants grow in hollows of oligotrophic, slightly alkaline marshes and bogs forming dense yellowish green to golden brown tufts in places when bog herb vegetation lacks.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Vitosha Region (Vitosha Mt – mire below Reznyovete peaks).
General distribution. Balkan Peninsula (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria), W and C Europe, Scandinavia, Baltic region, European part of Russia, Caucasus, NE, E and C Asia, North America. Subarctic species.
Threats. With a single locality in Bulgaria, the species is very vulnerable in case of habitats drying up and becoming overgrown by more competitive vascular plants.
Conservation measures taken. Species locality is in the area of Bistrishko Branishte Strict Nature Reserve and in a site of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Long-term study, assessment of trends in habitat changes, and prognosis for population development; legal protection of the species.
References. Petrov 1956a.
Author: Anna Ganeva
