Verbascum urumoffii
Verbascum urumoffii Stoj. & Acht.
Scrophulariaceae – Figwort family
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)]. BDA. Bulgarian endemic.
Morphology and biology. Biennial herbaceous plant. Basal leaves up to 20 cm long and 8 cm wide, with 6–10 cm long petioles, obovate or elliptical, cuneate at base, slightly sharpened at the apex, entire, sparsely hairy on the upper side, densely hairy below. Cauline leaves smaller, with shorter petioles, upper leaves sessile. Inflorescence pyramidal panicle. Flowers in pairs. Corolla 20–25 mm in diameter, yellow, glabrous from the inner side, with sparse stellate hairs on the outer side. Stamens 5, filaments with white hairs, lower 2 stamens in the upper part glabrous; anthers all reniform. Fruit capsule. Fl. V–VII, fr. VII–X. Reproduction by seeds.
Habitats and populations. Dry grasslands on shallow calcareous soils.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Vitosha Region, Znepole Region; from 600 up to 1000 m alt.
General distribution. Bulgaria.
Threats. Pollution and trampling of the habitats, stock breeding and grazing, vegetation succession in the grasslands, collecting as ornamental plant.
Conservation measures taken. Protected species according to the national Biodiversity Act. Part of the locality in Mt Golo Burdo is within Ostritsa Managed Nature Reserve as well as in sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Sustainable management and conservation of the habitats and the known localities, monitoring of the populations.
References. Stojanov et al. 1934; Stefanova 1984; Stefanova-Gateva 1995; Dimitrov 2002.
Authors: Boris Assyov, Cvetomir M. Denchev
