Lactuca tatarica
Lactuca tatarica (L.) C. A. Mey.
Asteraceae – Daisy family
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)]. BDA.
Morphology and biology. Perennial herbaceous plant with branched subterranean rhizome. All parts of the plant contain milky latex. Stem up to 80 cm high, usually not branched, glabrous. Basal, lower and middle cauline leaves deeply pinnately lobed, upper cauline leaves entire, serrate, glabrous, waxy. Inflorescences branched, with 5–15 capitula. Phyllaries of the involucrum overlapping, in 3 rows, glabrous, green or with violet tint. All flowers ligulate, blue. Fruit achene with pappus. Fl. VI–IX. fr. VI–X. Reproduction by seeds and vegetatively.
Habitats and populations. Sandy and gravely sea shores. Populations are with low to extensive number of individuals. Reproductive capacity of the species is good.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Black Sea coast, NE Bulgaria (Devnya, unconfirmed since 1932); from the sea level up to 150 m alt.
General distribution. C, E and SE Europe, SW Asia.
Threats. The limited distribution of the species and its specific ecological requirements, vast construction activities at the seaside, habitat destruction and littering, trampling and ploughing of the sands.
Conservation measures taken. Protected species by the national Biodiversity Act. Some of the populations are included in protected areas (Irakli and Silistar Protected Sites, Perla Sand Dunes Nature Monument) as well as in sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Sustainable management and conservation of the habitats and monitoring of the populations.
References. Georgiev 1889; Kochev 1984; Meshinev et al. 1994; Petrova et al. 2002.
Authors: Boris Assyov & Cvetomir M. Denchev
