Malcolmia orsiniana
Malcolmia orsiniana (Ten.) Ten. subsp. angulifolia (Boiss. & Orph.) A. Stork
Malcolmia angulifolia Boiss. & Orph.1, 3
Brassicaceae – Cabbage family
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B2ab(ii, iii); C2(i)]. BDA.
Morphology and biology. Herbaceous, annual or biennial with a branched hairy stem. Leaves ovate to obovate, dentate to shallowly lobed; lower long-petiolate; uppermost entire, subsessile. Inflorescences terminal. Flowers few, in the axils of the upper leaves; petals pink or violet, obovate, emarginate, long clawed at base. Siliqua curved, hairy, with oblong seeds. Fl. V–VI, fr. VI–VII. Insect pollinated. Reproduction by seeds.
Habitats and populations. Grows on limestone rocky and stony terrains, often by tourist trails and roads. It occurs in mountains, mainly in the beech forests belt. Populations are small and fragmented.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Slavyanka Mt (Ambar-dere locality), Rhodopi Mts (central – Trigrad Gorge); between 1000 and 1300 m alt.
General distribution. Balkan Peninsula (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, R Macedonia, Serbia).
Threats. The increased anthropogenic pressure in the species localities (road construction and maintenance, wood cutting, mountain tourism) cause habitat changes and reduction of the populations’ areas of occupancy.
Conservation measures taken. Protected species according to the national Biodiversity Act. The localities of the species are in protected territories (Alibotush Strict Nature Reserve and Trigradsko Zhdrelo Protected Site) and sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Restriction of human activities in close proximity of the localities; deposition of seeds to the National Seed Genebank in Bulgaria; elaboration of technologies for ex situ propagation and cultivation of the species.
References. Assenov 1970; Meshinev 1984; Ball & Akeroyd 1993; Ančev 2001, 2007.
Authors: Mincho Anchev & Valentina Goranova
