Marrubium friwaldskyanum
Marrubium friwaldskyanum Boiss.
Lamiaceae – Thyme family
Conservation status. Vulnerable [VU B1ab(iii)+2ab(ii); C2a(i)]. Bulgarian endemic.
Morphology and biology. Perennial. Stem 20–60 cm, densely tomentose at base. Leaves shortly petiolate, 1.2–5.5 cm long, 0.7–3.4 cm wide, round or elliptical, regularly dentate. Flowers yellow to creamy yellow, in multiflowered verticillasters. Corolla tube 6–9 mm long. Nutlets 1.2–1.8 mm long, elliptical, 3-ribbed, glabrous. Fl. V–VI, fr. VII–VIII. Reproduction by seeds.
Habitats and populations. Occurs in herbaceous and open shrub communities on shallow, dry soils, mostly on limestone. The subpopulation in Izgoryaloto Gyune locality above Krichim consists of hundreds of individuals. The remaining subpopulations are with low numbers of individuals and strongly fragmented.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Rhodopi Mts (W estern, Central), Thracian Lowland; 400–1500 m alt.
General distribution. Bulgaria.
Threats. Restricted areas of distribution; changes in land management (afforestation activities can lead to destruction of the localities); succession in plant communities (distribution of shrubs in the herbaceous communities restricts the growth of the population).
Conservation measures taken. The species is protected by the Biodiversity Act. Parts of the populations are within the borders of Izgoryaloto Gyune Managed Nature Reserve and Chervenata Stena Strict Nature Reserve and in sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Study of the biology and ecology of the species; monitoring of the population state.
References. Stojanov et al. 1967.
Author: Tenyo Meshinev
