Nigella orientalis
Nigella orientalis L.
Ranunculaceae – Buttercup family
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B2ab(iii)]. BDA.
Morphology and biology. Annual herb. Stems 10–90 cm, non-branched or with a few branches. Leaves pinnate, with few linear lobes. Flowers 1–3, terminal. Petals 5, yellow green, ovate, pointed, with short spur, in between them with bilobed nectarines. Fruit a capsule of 5–14 carpels, fused for half of their length, spread in the upper parts. Fl. V (VI), fr. VI. Insect pollination. Reproduction by seeds.
Habitats and populations. Edges of arable lands, grasslands and scrublands. In Bulgaria has been recorded only a few times. The populations for which quantitative data exist are local, with an area below 0.05 ha, usually with 30–40(70) individuals.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Rhodopi Mts (eastern – Ivailovgrad region, villages Svirachi and Belopolyane), Thracian Lowland (close to Harmanli town, between villages Mihalich and Pashovo, Haskovo district); up to 500 m alt.
General distribution. SW Asia, SE Balkan Peninsula, Crimea and Caucasus.
Threats. Limited distribution and small populations. There are no precise data, but the abandonment of the territories, overgrowing with shrubs and afforestation with pines are possible negative factors.
Conservation measures taken. Protected species by the Biodiversity Act. Some localities are within sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Studies on the distribution area and size of the populations; monitoring of the known populations; study on the negative factors in the localities; research into the practices for sustainable management of the territories favouring the populations.
References. Davis 1965; Panov 1975b; Cherneva 1995; Petrova et al. 1999.
Author: Antoaneta Petrova
