New locality of Centaurea pichleri (Asteraceae) in Bulgaria BIOLOGICA NYSSANA 7 (2)  December 2016: 87-90 Bancheva, S., Delcheva, M.  New locality of Centaurea pichleri… 87 Original Article Received: 01 September 2016 Revised: 10 November 2016 Accepted: 24 November 2016 New locality of Centaurea pichleri (Asteraceae) in Bulgaria Svetlana Bancheva, Malina Delcheva Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., bl. 23, 1113-Sofia, Bulgaria * E-mail: sbancheva@yahoo.com Abstract: Bancheva, S., Delcheva, M.: New locality of Centaurea pichleri (Asteraceae) in Bulgaria. Biologica Nyssana, 7 (2), December 2016: 87-90. Centaurea pichleri Boiss. belongs to subgenus Cyanus of Asteraceae and has a very complex taxonomy. It is distributed in Turkey (mainly in Central Anatolia), Greece, Bulgaria and Lebanon. In the Bulgarian flora the species has a conservation value being protected by the national Biodiversity Act and listed in the Red List of vascular plants in Bulgaria. During field investigations in the spring of 2016 a new locality of the species in Toundzha hilly country (SE Bulgaria) was found. The new population of C. pichleri is in a good state and numbers over then 1000 individuals. From the spatial location of individuals it can be assumed that the reproduction of the species in this locality combined vegetative and seed model. In the new locality, no threats to the species' population were registrated. Key words: Asteraceae, Centaurea, Bulgarian flora, rare plant species Apstrakt: Bancheva, S., Delcheva, M.: Novi lokalitet vrste Centaurea pichleri (Asteraceae) u Bulgarskoj. Biologica Nyssana, 7 (2), Decembar 2016: 31-34. Centaurea pichleri Boiss. pripada podrodu Cyanus porodice Asteraceae i ima veoma kompleksnu taksonomiju. Rasporostranjena je u Turskoj (uglavnom u Centralnoj Anatoliji), Grčkoj, Bugarskoj i Libanu. Ova vrsta ima konzervacionu vrednost u Bugarskoj flori, jer je zaštićena nacionalnim Zakonom o biodiverzitetu i nalazi se na Crvenoj listi vaskularnih biljaka Bugarske. Tokom terenskih istraživanja vršenih u proleće 2016. godine, nov lokalitet ove vrste je nađen u Tundža oblasti (Bugarska). Nova populacija C. pichleri je u dobrom stanju i broji preko 1000 jedinki. Iz prostornog rasporeda jedinki može se pretopstaviti da je reprodukcija vrste na ovom lokalitetu kombinacija vegetativnog i generativnog načina razmnožavanja. Na novom lokalitetu nisu uočene pretnje populaciji ove vrste. Ključne reči: Asteraceae, Centaurea, flora Bugarske, retka biljna vrsta 7 (2) • December 2016: 87-90 12th SFSES • 16-19 June 2016, Kopaonik Mt DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.200404 BIOLOGICA NYSSANA 7 (2)  December 2016: 87-90 Bancheva, S., Delcheva, M.  New locality of Centaurea pichleri… 88 Introduction During field investigations in the spring of 2016 a new locality of Centaurea pichleri Boiss. in Toundzha hilly country (SE Bulgaria), was found. Previously, the species was known from only three floristic regions of the country up to 800 m alt. (B a n c h e v a & D e n c h e v , 2000). A s s y o v & P e t r o v a (2012) erroneously indicate it also from Thracian Valley. Centaurea pichleri belongs to subgenus Cyanus of Asteraceae and has a very complex taxonomy. Cyanus was first mentioned by M i l l e r (1754) as a genus. De Candolle (1838) was the first to considered it a section within the genus Centaurea. In light of the molecular evidence, the latest compilations of the Cardueae (S u s a n n a & G a r c i a -J a c a s 2007, 2009) suggest that Cyanus should be left within Centaurea. According to B o r š i ć et al. (2011) C. pichleri is a species of controversial delineation. The populations of this taxon appear to be diversely associated with other eastern relatives and collectively do not form a supported clade. Bulgarian populations of the species seem to have less variability and they are more clearly identifiable. The species is distributed in Turkey (mainly in Central Anatolia), Greece, Bulgaria and Lebanon (W a g e n i t z , 1975; B o r š i ć et al., 2011). In Bulgaria the species is rare and has conservation value – it is protected by the national Biodiversity Act and included in the Red List of vascular plants in Bulgaria as “Vulnerable” (B a n c h e v a , 2009). Material and methods This investigation was based on material collected by the authors in Toundzha hilly country floristic region (SE Bulgaria) and on specimens deposited in the following Herbaria: BGBM, ISTE, MA, P, PRM, SOM, W. Results and discussion New record Centaurea pichleri Boiss.: Toundzha hilly country (SE Bulgaria), near to Kostur village, Svilengrad municipality, Haskovo district, on the periphery of dry, stony meadows in termophilous oak forest, N 41,977788, E 26,270822, 572 m alt., 29 April 2016, coll. S. Bancheva & M. Delcheva, SOM – 172833. Distribution and ecology The species is distributed in four (out of 20) floristic regions in Bulgaria – Strandzha Mt, Black Sea Coast, the Rhodopes (East) and Toundzha hilly country up to 800 m alt. The new population of C. pichleri inhabits the periphery of dry, stony meadows in termophilous oak forest and brushwood in the Natural landmark "Habitat of wild peony" Fig. 1. Habit of C. pichleri Fig. 2. C. pichleri in its natural habitat BIOLOGICA NYSSANA 7 (2)  December 2016: 87-90 Bancheva, S., Delcheva, M.  New locality of Centaurea pichleri… 89 proclaimed in 1976 (Figs 2, 3). The species grows together with: Quercus frainetto Ten., Q. pubescens Willd., Fraxinus ornus L., Carpinus orientalis Mill, Acer monspessulanum L., Anthemis arvensis L., Linaria genistifolia (L.) Mill., Paeonia peregrina Mill., Muscari botryoides (L.) Mill., Saxifraga rotundifolia L., Veronica austriaca L. subsp. jacquinii (Baumg.) Eb. Fisch., Geranium sanguineum L., Verbascum phoeniceum L., Dactylis glomerata L., Ranunculus illyricus L., Lamium purpureum L., Cornus mas L., Potentilla neglecta Baumg., Centaurea thirkei Sch. Bip., Achillea millefolium L., Lychnis coronaria (L.) Desr., Plantago lanceolata L., Hypericum perforatum L., Ajuga laxmanii (L.) Benth., Lathyrus aphaca L., Ranunculus neapolitanus Ten., Silene conica L. etc. This territory is a part of a Site of Community Importance BG0000212 “Sakar” from the Ecological Network NATURA 2000 in Bulgaria. This habitat type named “Pannonian-Balkanic Turkey Oak – Sessile Oak Forests – 91M0” is included in Annex I of the “Habitat” Directive 92/43/EEC. Another specimen of Centaurea pichleri from Toundzha hilly country, south of the village of Iglika, Bolyarovo Municipality (SOM 162724), is stored in SOM, which was collected about 50 km east of the new population. This is also unpublished record of the species. Population observations The new population of C. pichleri is in a good state and numbers over then 1000 individuals. Although finding a new population that is in good condition we consider regrettable that the conservation status of the species should not be changed. From the spatial location of individuals it can be assumed that the reproduction of the species in this locality combined vegetative and seed model. In the new locality no threats to the species' population were noticed. Conclusion Newly established population represents the northern boundary of the distribution of the species. Acknowledgements. This research received support from the SYNTHESYS Project http://www.synthesys.info/ which is financed by European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 Integrating Activities Programme (ES-TAF-3669, FR-TAF-3913, DE-TAF- 4725, CZ-TAF-4824). The field studies were supported by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2009-2014, Contract № Д-33-88/28.08.2015 “Mapping and assessment of Sparsely vegetated land ecosystem services in Bulgaria (SPA-EcoServices)”. The authors thank Vladimir Trifonov from the Regional Inspectorate of Fig. 3. Map of distribution of C. pichleri BIOLOGICA NYSSANA 7 (2)  December 2016: 87-90 Bancheva, S., Delcheva, M.  New locality of Centaurea pichleri… 90 Environment and Water, Haskovo for providing information about the newly established population. References Assyov, B. & Petrova, A. (eds). 2012. Conspectus of the Bulgarian Vascular flora. Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation Sofia. 452 p. Bancheva, S. 2009. Cyanus pichleri. In: Petrova, A. & Vladimirov, V. (eds). 2009. Red List of Bulgarian vascular plants. Phytologia Balcanica, 15 (1): 83. Bancheva, S. & Denchev, C. 2000. Occurrence and taxonomic investigation of Centaurea pichleri Boiss. (Asteraceae) in Bulgaria. Phytologia Balcanica, 6 (2-3): 167-175. Boršić, I., Susanna, A., Bancheva, S., Garcia-Jacas N. 2011. Centaurea sect. Cyanus: Nuclear phylogeny, biogeography and life-form evolution. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 172 (2): 238-249. de Candolle, A.P. 1838: Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis. Vol 6. Treuttel & Würtz, Paris. Miller, P. 1754: The gardeners dictionary. Abridged ed. 4. Privately published, London. Wagenitz, G., 1975: Genus Centaurea L. Pp. 465- 585. In: Davis, P. H. (ed.): Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, 5. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.