Pedicularis palustris
Pedicularis palustris L.
Scrophulariaceae – Figwort family
Conservation status. Critically Endangered [CR A4c]. BDA.
Morphology and biology. Herbaceous annual or biennial. Stem erect, branched from the base or only in its upper half. Leaves pinnatisect, alternate. Flowers solitary or in clusters of 2–25 forming a lax raceme. Calyx ovate, inflated in fruit, strongly 2-lipped; lobes crenate. Corolla reddish pink; upper lip with 2 teeth; lower 3-lobed, the middle one being the smallest. Fruit oblong-ovate capsule, somewhat apiculate. Fl. IV–V, fr. V–VII. Insect pollination. Reproduction by seeds.
Habitats and populations. Grows in wet meadows, marshy places. Populations are small, with a trend in reduction of their sizes.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Sofia region (Dragalevtsi residential area, Tsruklevtsi village), Znepole region (Choklyovo Blato near Baikalsko village, Glavanovtsi village), Rila Mts (in the region of Samokov town near the villages Shiroki Dol, Prodanovtsi and Dospei); 500–1000 m alt. The occurrence of the species near Kazichene village (Sofia region) has become extinct.
General distribution. Europe (southwards to the Pyrenees, N Italy, S Bulgaria, extending to S Ural eastwards), Asia (Siberia, Mongolia, China).
Threats. Small population sizes; deterioration of the habitats due to drainage of wetlands, wood cutting, grazing, mowing, use of pesticides in adjacent cultivated fields, settlement enlargement.
Conservation measures taken. Protected species according to the national Biodiversity Act. The occurrence near Baikalsko village is within Choklyovo Blato Protected Site.
Conservation measures needed. Designation of protected territories in the region of Samokov; re-introduction of the species to its former native localities; deposition of seeds to the National Seed Genebank in Bulgaria.
References. Meyer 1972; Hedge 1978; Penev 1984; Peev 1995.
Author: Pepa Ignatova
