Ligularia sibirica
Ligularia sibirica (L.) Cass.
Asteraceae – Daisy family
Conservation status. Critically Endangered [CR B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii); C2(ii)]. BDA.
Morphology and biology. Perennial, 30–150 cm high. Stems erect, not branched. Basal leaves 10–25 cm long, 7–20 cm wide, triangular-reniform to subsagittate, dentate; cauline leaves smaller, the upper narrower and subsessile. Capitula in lax spikes. Involucre 15–20 mm, with (6) 8–10 lanceolate bracts; supplementary bracts 2, linear, about as long as involucre. Ligules (5) 7–11, 8–20 mm long, 1–5 mm wide, yellow. Achenes 4–6 mm; pappus longer than achene, dirty white.
Habitats and populations. Damp places in open grasslands and in rare woods. Two localities are known in the foothills of Pirin Mts, Razlog region. One of the locations is in Izvóro locality where the the species occurs in rare scrub and small islets along Yazó river. It covers an area of ca. 300 m2, and comprises about 200 individuals. The other location is in the high parts of Krushe locality, where the species occupies an area of ca. 1 ha, and is represented by ca. 65 plants.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Pirin Mts; 1140–1400 m alt.
General distribution. C and E Europe, W Siberia, Far East, C Asia.
Threats. Grazing, trampling of the localities by cattle and people; cutting down of alder trees within the locality near Yazó river; low level of precipitation; increase of the percentage of shrubs in the plant communities; formation of tufts.
Conservation measures taken. The species and its habitats are protected by the Biodiversity Act. Both localities are within sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria. An action plan for the species was elaborated (2005) by a team from the Institute of Botany, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Conservation measures needed. To implement the measures envisaged by the action plan, e.g. proclamation of Izvóro Protected Site, prevention of cutting of the alder woods within and outside that locality; restriction of the access of cattle; ex situ propagation and introduction of the explants in localities close to the existing ones; monitoring of the population state and collection of seeds for the National Seed Genebank in Bulgaria.
References. Bondev 1984.
Author: Svetlana Bancheva
