Suaeda heterophylla
Suaeda heterophylla (Kar. & Kir.) Bunge
Chenopodiaceae –Goosefoot family
Conservation status. Critically Endangered [CR B1ab(ii,iii)+2ab(ii,iii); C2a(i)]. BDA.
Morphology and biology. Herbaceous annual. Stem 10–80 cm high, branched from the base. Leaves alternate, 1–3 cm long, semicylindrical, green with greyish or yellowish tint, fleshy, succulent. Flowers hermaphroditic and female, with 5-lobed blue green or red perianth, with dorsal wings. Flowers clustered in small sessile groups on the branches. Fruit scarious, seed lenticular. Fl. VII–IX, fr. VIII–X. Reproduction by seeds.
Habitats and populations. Grows on saline sands and clay soils on the Black Sea shore and on the dikes of the salt-pans. Populations are small, with 6–27 individuals on an area of 40–70 m2.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Black Sea coast (southern – along the dike of Atanasovsko and Pomoriisko lakes).
General distribution. Bulgaria, SE Russia, Caucasus, W Kazakhstan, C Asia, Japan-China region.
Threats. Restricted distribution in Bulgaria; low numbers, small area and density of the populations; annual fluctuation in the number of individuals and seed production of the plants; damage and destruction of plants in the course of salt production at Pomorie and tourists attracted by the ornithofauna of Atanasovsko and Pomoriisko lakes and the Salt Museum in Pomorie; air and substrate pollution by the Oil Plant in Burgas.
Conservation measures taken. The species is protected by the Biodiversity Act. One of the species occurrences is within the borders of Atanasovsko Ezero Managed Nature Reserve. The localities are within sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Monitoring of the state of the populations and habitats; strict control on the implementation of the Biodiversity Act; introduction of the species in similar habitats without economic and tourist pressure.
References. Jordanov & Kuzmanov 1966; Simeonovski 1984.
Author: Milka Stoeva
