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Contributions to the Atlas Florae Hungariae XIII.
85-88Views:57885The present paper is the 13th in a series of papers contributing new floristic data to complement the distribution maps of Atlas Florae Hungariae. We present altogether 1307 new occurrence data to advance our knowledge of the distribution of vascular plants in Hungary. New data are presented for 634 vascular plant species from 256 flora mapping quarter quadrates (CEU). Due to the unevenness of data collection, the data are highly dispersed over the area of Hungary. Most of the presented occurrence data are from the Great Hungarian Plain, the North Hungarian Mountains, and the Little Hungarian Plain regions. The enumeration includes rare native species (e.g., Androsace maxima, Erysimum crepidifolium, Orobanche gracilis, Peucedanum palustre, Pulsatilla zimmermannii, Scopolia carniolica, Vicia biennis), rare or data deficient adventive species (e.g., Euphorbia prostrata, Euphorbia serpens, Lindernia dubia), subspontaneous occurrences of native species (Asplenium scolopendrium, Daphne laureola, Chenopodium opulifolium), species spreading along linear infrastructure (Eleusine indica, Plantago coronopus, Sorghum halepense, Spergularia salina, Tragus racemosus), and also common native species with data deficient distribution maps (Agrostis stolonifera, Bromus benekenii, Bromus japonicus, Carex caryophyllea, Carex divulsa subsp. divulsa, Equisetum ramosissimum, Vulpia myuros).
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An identification key for Hungarian botanists portrayed in Album Kleinianum
117-132Views:97In the legacy of Sándor Jávorka deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum there is a 12-page typescript entitled “An identification key for Hungarian botanists portrayed in Album Kleinianum (Budapest, 25 September 1912)”. It provides accurate descriptions of 50 botanists in the form of an identification key, which was compiled by Zoltán Szabó, a well-known botanist at that time. The most important features of each person are presented in a humorous, basically ironic, funny and witty way. The Identification key was prepared for the session no. 178 of the Botanical Section of the Royal Hungarian Natural Science Society, where another botanist, Gyula Klein was congratulated on the 40th anniversary of his teaching profession as well as the 20th anniversary of his membership in the society. Almost all prominent botanists attended the meeting. This paper presents the Identification key, supplied with annotations and photographs.
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Contributions to the flora of Budapest and its surroundings II.
33–50Views:152New and recently confirmed localities of 52 rare taxa (including 26 orchids) are presented from the vicinity of Budapest. Epipactis peitzii is a new species for the Hungarian flora; it has been recorded in the Buda and Pilis Mts. This species and its closest relatives (E. leptochila group) are briefly discussed. Other records are new for the flora of particular regions, specifically: Buda Mts: Corydalis intermedia, Epipactis leptochila, Epipactis muelleri; Pilis Mts: Anacamptis coriophora, Epipactis neglecta, E. tallosii, Valerianella pumila; Visegrád Mts: Epipactis futakii, E. leptochila, E. muelleri, E. neglecta, Ophrys apifera, O. holubyana.
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Epipactis pseudopurpurata Mered’a, a new orchid species for the Hungarian flora
27–32Views:83A small population of Epipactis pseudopurpurata new to the flora of Hungary was found in the Buda Mts, near Telki village (Pest county). The main diagnostic features of this species are discussed, and a comparison with the allied species, E. purpurata is provided.
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Contributions to the distribution of Arabis nemorensis (Cruciferae) in Hungary
155-169Views:94Arabis nemorensis is a poorly-known species with sparse and mostly uncertain literature records in Hungary. A complete list of its known occurrences was presented in Soó’s synopsis in 1968. A few new records of this taxon have been reported since then. In the present study all literature records were evaluated by means of revision of Hungarian herbarium materials. Several vouchers were succesfully traced, and their identity as A. nemorensis was confirmed (Baja, Ercsi, Lesenceistvánd, Miskolc, Nagykanizsa, Szigetújfalu). In other cases, the putative vouchers belonged to A. hirsuta or A. sagitatta, thus the corresponding literature records proved to be erroneous (Balatonmáriafürdő-alsó, Gyenesdiás, Kőszeg, Vasboldogasszony, Zalaújlak). On the other hand, hitherto unknown Hungarian localities of A. nemorensis were revealed, specifically in the Bükk Mts. (Eger, Kács), the Bakony Mts. (Márkó), in the western Balaton region (Hahót, Hévíz, Keszthely-Fenékpuszta, Nyirád, Tapolca) and the Hungarian Plains (Csákvár, Debrecen, Egeralja, Fertőd-Eszterháza, Kiskőrös, Lébény, Ócsa, Sárszentmihály, Szigetszentmiklós). The species appeared to be new for the phytogeographical regions Bakonyicum and Nyírségense. Additionally, a few specimens of A. nemorensis collected outside the territory of present-day Hungary were revised in BP. The historical occurrence of the species at Torja (Turia in Romania) is documented by two specimens (Schur, 1853, as A. gerardi; Jávorka & Keller, 1943, as A. hirsuta). Another specimen that was collected in 1879 at Óbecse (Bečej) and labelled as A. glastifolia by Kovács was found to be A. nemorensis too. Since the identity of Schneller’s literature record (1858) from Futak is uncertain, Kovács’s specimen is currently the only, though historical record of this species from Vojvodina province in Serbia. Further specimens of A. nemorensis were discovered in the collections of Lengyel. They were collected and labelled as A. sagittata near Pomogy (Pamhagen) in 1910 (and questionably in 1919), probably representing the first gathering of A. nemorensis from Burgenland state in Austria.
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Rediscovery of Crepis mollis (Jacq.) Asch. subsp. hieracioides (Waldst. & Kit.) Domin in Hungary
150-156Views:86Crepis hieracioides (= C. mollis subsp. hieracioides) was described from the Bakony Mts. (Western Hungary) by Pál Kitaibel more than 200 years ago. His record has been the single one of this taxon from the territory of present-day Hungary thus far. In the second half of the 20th century this taxon was either reported as ‘extinct’ or was plainly ignored in the Hungarian literature. This paper reports about the recent rediscovery of C. mollis subsp. hieracioides in the Bakony Mts., specifically in the ‘Bakonyalja’ region (Devecser: Széki-erdő). The habitat is characterised, and the regional phytogeographical significance of this taxon is emphasised.
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New data on the Hungarian adventive flora: Acer opalus Mill. subsp. obtusatum (Waldst. et Kit. ex Willd.) Gams 1925 in Hungary
229-238Views:40Acer opalus Miller 1768 because of its complex taxonomic status can be interpreted as a collective species which contains several species and subspecies depending on different interpretations. An important adventive occurrence from this collective species was found in a forest that belongs to the Tétényi plateau (Budapest, 11th district) in July of 2009. It is proved to be Acer opalus Mill. subsp. obtusatum (Waldst. et Kit. ex Wild.) Gams. The natural range of the subspecies covers the eastern side of the central Mediterranean Sea region and western Balkan Peninsula. It is a submediterranean-mediterranean, thermophile, shade-tolerant taxon but often appears together lightdemanding species too. In its native range it occurs in beech, pine, sessile oak forests and in different types of dry oak forests as admixed tree species. The subspecies was found in a turkey oak – sessile oak community in Hungary. Several old, seed growing individuals live on the spot which have had continuous seed production. Therefore from the old trees to the young seedlings different age categories are represented.
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Online distribution atlas of the Hungarian vascular flora (Atlas Florae Hungariae): Homepage structure and prospects of database building
238–252Views:398In December 2018 the online Distribution atlas of vascular plants of Hungary (Atlas Florae Hungariae) was published. The database was built from more than 1 million data records. It mainly contains data from the Hungarian Flora Mapping Programme, but herbarium and literature data were also processed. Maps of species richness illustrate the taxonomic diversity of biogeographical areas and shows the differences of survey quality. After the Flora Mapping Programme ended, between 2016 and 2019, additional data from scientific articles were processed. 25% of new data originated from the article series “Contributions to the Atlas Florae Hungariae” in the Kitaibelia journal, which significantly broadened the distribution of some species. Records of Mesophile forest species (e.g. Allium ursinum, Dryopteris dilatata) increased, as well as records of weed species (e.g. Euphorbia maculata, Senecio vernalis) which can be attributed to their natural spreading. The most important future tasks are to create a reviewed list of taxa and extend data records with an attribute table containing all additional information. Until now the database website is presented only in Hungarian (http://floraatlasz.uni-sopron.hu). Registration is available for anybody, after sending a request via e-mail (atlas.florae.hungariae@uni-sopron.hu). There are different options (excel file by e-mail or online web form) on how to upload floristic data for registered users. Data is only accepted if required information (name of taxa, date, data publisher, settlement, CEU code) is filled out. Each record of uploaded data is revised by the website administrator and taxa specialists. The English version of the webpage will be available in the near future.
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Contributions to the flora of Budapest and its surroundings III.
227–237Views:154New or recently confirmed localities of 40 rare taxa (including 7 ferns) are presented from the vicinity of Budapest. Some records are new for the flora of particular regions, specifically: Geranium sibiricum (Buda Mts and Budapest), Polystichum setiferum (Pilis Mts), Onosma pseudarenaria, Sorbus aria s. str. (Visegrad Mts). Of the remaining records, the most significant ones are those of Agrimonia procera, Botrychium lunaria, Epipactis tallosii, Gymnadenia odoratissima and Sorbus ujhelyii.
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Astragalus vesicarius and other new taxa to the flora of the Vértes Mountains (Hungary, Transdanubian Mts)
195–199Views:152A conservation survey on the condition of steppe and forest-steppe habitats in the Vértes Mts revealed several plant species from the flora of the area that have not been reported before. From a phytogeographical point of view, the most important is Astragalus vesicarius, whose small population in the Vértes fits very well into the native distribution pattern of the species in Hungary. Another important steppe plant is Stipa dasyphylla, which is found in two locations in the Vértes Mts. Besides other taxa of conservation interest (Orobanche teucrii, Phelipanche purpurea, Rosa hungarica), some under-recorded species (Cerastium tenoreanum, Stellaria pallida), and some spreading weeds (Elymus elongatus, Euphorbia lathyris) enrich our knowledge of the flora of the area.
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Cardamine occulta Hornem. in Hungary, and other stowaways of the ornamental plant trade
195–214Views:405During the study of the weed flora of garden centers in Hungary (among 2017–2020), remarkable populations of Cardamine occulta Hornem., a new alien for the Hungarian flora were found. C. occulta was present altogether in 51 of the 53 visited sites. Dominantly the regularly irrigated and continuously moist microhabitats (pots, containers, muddy surfaces of geotextile-covered beds etc.) were colonized. During the revision of our recently collected specimens, deposited in JPU and DE herbaria as Cardamine hirsuta L., further individuals proved to identical with this till overlooked species. One of them (27.08.2004., Heves county: Eger [8088.3; 8188.1], coll. by A. Schmotzer, deposited in DE collection) proved to the third documented occurrence in Europe, comparing to the accessed literature data. Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. and Urtica membranacea Poir. are also new aliens for the Hungarian flora. Several introduced individuals of these taxa were found in containers of imported thermophilous woody ornamentals at 4 and 2 sites, respectively. Tens of individuals of Eclipta prostrata were also found in a sapling-bed at another site. New populations of scarce or rare Euphorbia prostrata Aiton, E. serpens Kunth and Veronica peregrina L. were also documented.
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Cyperus odoratus in Hungary
157–164Views:248Eleven species of the genus Cyperus have been reported from Hungary so far, of which 3 are certainly aliens. A small population of C. odoratus, new for the flora of Hungary, was found along the River Danube near Foktő settlement (Bács-Kiskun County, S Hungary) in late autumn of 2019. On this occasion blooming specimens were observed in the floodplain ruderal vegetation on the bank of a fork of the Danube. This species is widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions of the World, and was first introduced to Europe in the early 1950s. More recently it has been spreading along certain rivers of Italy and Spain. It was discovered along the river Danube in Romania in the early 1990s, and later at the upper parts of the river in Bulgaria, Croatia and Serbia. Its introduction into Hungary is connected with the Danube, too. Based on foreign experience, it is probable that C. odoratus will be spreading along the Hungarian Danube system, hopefully, not as an invasive species.
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Herbarium database of the vascular collection of Eszterházy Károly College (EGR)
339-348Views:118The paper describes the vascular herbarium of the Eszterházy Károly College (EGR) in Eger (Hungary), according to its condition in 2013. All specimens of the herbarium were documented by digital photographs (ca. 8 000 specimens), and all data from the labels were entered into MS Excel spreadsheet. 54% of the specimens were collected in present-day Hungary, the other half comes mainly from the neighbouring countries, but more distant European countries are represented as well. Hungarian specimens were collected mostly in Heves, Pest, Zala, Vas, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Veszprém counties. Most of the herbarium sheets originated from the 1860’s and the 1950–60’s. Apart from these periods the collection has hardly developed. The most prolific collectors were Gábor Vida, Márton Vrabélyi, Árpád Károlyi and Tamás Pócs. More than half of the Hungarian flora (61%) is represented in EGR, although some taxa (e.g. Pterydophyta, Gymnospermatophyta) are much underrepresented. The digital photographs and the database are property of the authors and the Department of Botany and Ecology of Eszterházy Károly College. Data of non-cultivated plants collected in the territory of present-day Hungary are summarized in an electronic appendix (http://kitaibelia.unideb.hu/?download&aid=852&volume_id=94&lang=hun – including: catalogue number, taxon name, collector, settlement, date of gathering and file name of the documentary photograph). Further data can be required from the corresponding author or the curator of the herbarium.
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About the occurrence of Spiraea media Fr. Schm. on the Balaton Uplands
151-154Views:260The presence of Spiraea media on the Balaton Uplands has high plant geographical importance, but the found location has not been known before its recent rediscovery. The Spiraea media was discovered on the Kopasz Hill (Felsőörs) growing in a closed Quercus cerris oak forest (~Fraxino orni-Quercetum cerridis); which is a rather atypical habitat of the species. The appearance of blooming specimens and the rediscovery of the species is probably due to the cut of the neighbouring forest, which has resulted extra irradiation in the area. The 19th century military maps of the landscape show that the former vegetation of the area was characterised by the mosaics of rocky grassland–scrub–forest or rocky scrub rich patches being suitable for the species.
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Literature reviews
259-260Views:78Kovács J. A. (2019): Székelykeresztúr vidékének növényzeti öröksége. – Tortoma Könyvkiadó, Barót, 780 pp.
Király G. & Takács G. (2020): A magyar Fertő edényes flórája. – Rence 3., Fertő-Hanság Nemzeti Park Igazgatóság, Sarród, 430 pp.
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The Herbarium of Debrecen University (DE) II.: The „Zoltán Siroki Herbarium”
15-22Views:364The paper introduces the “Zoltán Siroki Herbarium” (on the basis of the MS Excel spreadsheet database of the collection) which is a separate section within the Herbarium of Debrecen University (DE). The Zoltán Siroki Herbarium consists of ca. 20 000 specimens from almost all European countries, but mainly from the historical territory of Hungary. Although ca. 400 botanists contributed to this collection, most of the specimens were collected by Zoltán Siroki in Hajdú-Bihar, Pest and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén counties. The most rapid growth of the Herbarium took place in the middle of the last century (from the 1940s to 1960s), but Siroki remained an active collector until the 1980s. Some specimens from the Herbarium of former Royal Seed Testing Station (Budapest) was also incorporated in this collection; they represent gatherings from the last decades of the 19th century and first decades of the 20th century. Data on the most significant part of the collection, representing native plants collected in the present-day Hungary, are summarized in Electronic Appendix 1. (incl. taxon name, settlement, collecting year, collector, file name of documentary photograph).
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Continuing spread of Plantago coronopus along Hungarian roads
19–26Views:475In the course of our research of Hungarian transport routes, we observed an intensive spread of the Atlantic-Mediterranean Plantago coronopus L., a recently established species in Hungary. Between 2017 and 2019, it was detected in 47 flora mapping quadrats, which increased the total number of occurrences to 81 since 2013. Besides motorways, the main Hungarian transport routes were involved as well. 26 occurrences have been recorded along the roads 4/E60, E573, 8/E66, 86/E65 and 87, which are severely affected by international traffic. However, on routes avoiding international transit traffic, the species’ occurrences are still rare. In some cases, the predominant direction of traffic appeared to influence the formation of new stands. It is very likely that the first individuals that appeared along the section of the M86/E65 motorway between Szombathely and Hegyfalu in 2019, arrived primarily by northbound traffic, rather than along the road 86, which runs parallel to it only a few hundred meters away. Likewise, it seems certain that the spread of the species along the roads M1/E60, E75 (Mocsa, Tata, Páty) and M7/E71 (Fonyód, Balatonlelle, Kajászó) as well as the road 8/E66 (Bakonygyepes, Veszprém) is due to reproduction of older extensive local populations. At several localities along the outer bend of roundabouts or near the exits of motorways, a dispersal role of intense winter road salting was also observed. The largest populations were located mostly along ditches, next to the (often bare) lane of roadbeds that are heavily affected by mechanical and osmotic stress. The majority of stands were found within a 3 meters wide belt along the asphalt strip (5 meters was measured in the lawn of a cemetery once). Since the species is present continuously at several localities since 2013, it is considered as naturalised in Hungary, and its further spread can be confidently predicted. The current status of the species in Hungary is naturalised (non-trans¬former) neophyte.
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Dr. Sándor Polgár was born 140 years ago
169–184Views:112Dr. Sándor Polgár was the most outstanding botanist of Győr county (NW Hungary). He provided important results in floristic studies, phytogeography, taxonomy and in the research of alien plants. „Győr megye flórája” („Flora of Győr county”), published in 1941, was one of the most important monography in his period. He is the author of the rare, hybridogenous species Ornithogalum ×degenianum, known only from Hungary. His private herbarium was one of the biggest in Hungary with more than 20,000 specimens. As a teacher he taught geography and nature studies in his home town Győr between 1900 and 1935. Because of his Jewish origin, he was a victim of the holocaust in 1944.
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The role of soil seed bank in restoration and dynamics of Hungarian plant communities
116-135Views:98Soil seed bank has an important role in maintaining plant populations and communities, in regeneration processes, and also provides information about the history of the studied site, the past land use practices, the biotic and abiotic changes and about the current degradation degree. In Hungary there are many researchers related to the seed bank, but from the last few years we do not have a comprehensive work about the results of these works. My goal is to report on the results of former seed bank researches in Hungary and also to highlight the missing topics and further research opportunities. The review is based on 49 articles, the oldest one dates back to 1922, the newest one was published in 2015. Most of the studies use greenhouse or laboratory germination tests to determine the viability of seeds. The earliest studies, which examined the weed seed bank of farmland soils found, that the seed bank was much higher than the total seed bank found on natural and semi-natural habitats studied later. Researchers found the lowest seed bank density in forests. Disturbed sites and former agricultural sites had higher seed bank densities than sites without agricultural use. Most part of seed bank was located in the upper soil layer in all studied communities. In most studies usually a small similarity was detected between the composition of soil seed bank and aboveground vegetation, which suggests that the seed bank has a subordinate role in regeneration processes. Seed bank type classification is lacking from the three-quarter of Hungarian flora species, despite that it is essential for protecting species and communities and for developing proper protection against invasive and alien species.
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Spreading along the railways: morphology and invasion success of Vulpia ciliata in Hungary
145–156Views:422Vulpia ciliata Dumort, a widespread species in the Mediterranean region, has been introduced in several European countries in recent decades, mainly along railways. The species was first discovered in Hungary at Szolnok railway station in May 2016, then a few days later at Keleti railway station in Budapest. In 2020 the species was found in several Transdanubian railway stations. Apparently, V. ciliata has recently been established in numerous parts of the country, probably spreading by railway transport. Until now, the species has only been found in the vicinity of regularly used tracks (in a distance of 20 m at the most). Being an invasive alien species, V. ciliata can displace the native Vulpia myuros in ruderal vegetation along railway lines. The species can easily be distinguished from V. myuros by its hairy lemma. Moreover, it flowers earlier than the other two indigenous species in Hungary, often already in late April. Based on the characteristics examined (number of nodes in the upper 2 cm zone of the rachis, number of fruits per spikelet, rate of fertile and sterile florets within the spikelet, lower and upper glume length, lemma and awn length separately, rachis width in the upper 2 cm zone) we have concluded that V. bromoides and V. myuros are less different from each other than V. ciliata from these two species. In the case of V. ciliata subsp. ciliata, we observed that spikelets (detached from the inflorescens) function as dispersal units. Therefore we assume that the observed low fertility rate within the spikelets, as well as the presence of marginal cilia on lemmas promote the spreading success of V. ciliata (spreading in clusters, anemochory, zoochory, anthropochory). Its early maturation (in May) can also facilitate its spread along railways, because the populations survive the chemical weed control usually carried out in late spring. The other two Hungarian species usually ripen later (in June). For the time being, the spread of V. ciliata outside the Hungarian railway network may be hindered by climatic conditions, or by the lack of seasonal weed control outside that network, which otherwise offers a relative survival advantage for V. ciliata along railway tracks.
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The occurrence of Viola collina Besser in the Bükk and Uppony Mts. (N Hungary)
254-258Views:116Herbarium revisions and recent field observations revealed the occurrence of Viola collina Besser in the Bükk and Uppony Mts. (northern Hungary). This species has not been reported from the North Hungarian Mountains thus far. Altogether 94 localities of V. collina have been recorded in that region between 2007 and 2014. A map of the species’ local distribution is provided. Local habitat preferences of V. collina are briefly discussed.
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Bryophyte flora of the Arboretum of Szarvas (Hungary, Békés county)
140–152Views:371In this study we present the current moss and liverwort flora of the Arboretum of Szarvas. The observations were made in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Altogether 95 bryophyte taxa (7 liverworts and 88 mosses) were identified. Most of them are considered to be common in Hungary, however some species are rare in the Great Hungarian Plain: Lophocolea coadunata, Climacium dendroides, Hylocomiadelphus triquetrus, Pleurozium schreberi, Polytrichum formosum, Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, Ulota crispula, Zygodon rupestris. These results also confirm the conservational and scientific value of the arboretum.
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Data to the flora and geobotany of Kisalföld (Lesser Plain) region, NW Hungary
235-253Views:112Lesser Plain (Kisalföld) – divided among three countries (Austria, Hungary and Slovakia) – is the westernmost part of the lowland areas of the Pannonian Basin. Present paper provides a résumé of the authors’ floristic work from the Hungarian part of the area, describing localities, habitats and regional phytogeography of 57 taxa altogether. The localities were listed according to the classification of small geographic regions. The most important results of the study are as follows:
- We recorded 5 species new to the region (Brachypodium rupestre, Bromus ramosus, Hypericum dubium, Lathyrus sphaericus, Tordylium maximum); all of them can be considered as submontane-montane elements.
- We reported several species new to a microregion within the Lesser Plain: montane species in the W-SW part of the Plain (Cirsium rivulare, Dryopteris dilatata, Equisetum telmateia), loess-connected species mainly on the Moson Plateau (Agropyron cristatum, Allium atroviolaceum, Euphorbia salicifolia, Viola ambigua); and occurrences of species on sandy soils near the Lake Fertő (Draba nemorosa, Stipa pennata).
- We explained the known localities of several salt tolerant species (e.g. Carex divisa, Crypsis alopecuroides, Juncus maritimus, Limonium gmelinii, Suaeda pannonica) from the Lake Fertő and its surroundings.
- We assessed the role of the forest management and nature conservational actions in the distribution of some important tree species (Acer tataricum, Betula pubescens, Fraxinus ornus, Quercus petraea, Salix pentandra).
- We discussed the regional nature conservational status of several protected and/or threatened species (e.g. Allium carinatum, Allium suaveolens, Carex strigosa, Hottonia palustris, Potamogeton coloratus, Stellaria palustris) in the Lesser Plain.
The activities of the authors in the surroundings of Győr were supported by monitoring results gained during the Hungarian Little Plain project (LIFE08 NAT/H/000289).
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Annual Lythrum species in Hungary: revision of the subgenus Hyssopifolia
64–70Views:87Four ephemeral Lythrum species have been recorded from Hungary so far. Lythrum hyssopifolia is widely distributed in the whole country. Most occurrences of L. tribracteatum are located in southeastern Hungary and alongside the Danube. The Central Asian L. linifolium was reported from a single locality (Tiszaug village, E Hungary) in 1954, which is the only European record of this species. However, we have ascertained that the voucher specimen of this record differs from L. linifolium in some morphological traits, but strongly resembles L. borysthenicum that is distributed in the Mediterranean and steppe regions of eastern Europe. Based on our revision we suggest deleting L. linifolium from both Hungarian and European checklists. The former Hungarian occurrence of L. thesioides is confirmed by vouchers.
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Historical occurrence of Spergularia echinosperma, a rare Nanocyperion species in Hungary
3–9Views:264Three species of the genus Spergularia have been known from Hungary. The most widespread one, Spergularia rubra (L.) J. Presl et C. Presl occurs on young sandy fallow fields and other disturbed habitats. The other species, S. marina (L.) Bess. and S. media (L.) C. Presl, occur sporadically in saline grasslands, and both have been recently spreading along salted roads. During a revision of the genus Spergularia in Hungarian herbaria, specimens of the species S. echinosperma (Čelak.) Asch. et Graebn. were found. It is a rare species previously known to occur only in Czechia and Germany and to be extinct in Austria and Slovakia (a few occurrences along the Morava and Danube rivers between 1909 and 1953). However, it was recently discovered in Western Siberia and Kazakhstan. It is a typical mudflat plant that occurs on exposed sandy shores of water bodies. Two herbarium sheets collected by Gyula Tauscher from near the village of Ercsi (riverbank of the Danube) in 1903 were found in the Carpato-Pannonicum collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. In addition, a new specimen was found, collected in Slovakia (Danube near Šamorín, collected by Mihály Résely in 1868) at the vicinity of the Hungarian border. The species was not confirmed during a field inspection of the target localities in Hungary; therefore, we have to consider it extinct in the country as well as in the whole Pannonian Basin. Recently, S. echinosperma was split into two subspecies – subsp. echinosperma and subsp. albensis. The subsp. echinosperma is probably restricted to fishponds in the SW part of Czechia and subsp. albensis occurs mainly in the floodplains of the river Elbe in Germany. The extinct populations of S. echinosperma in the Pannonian Basin belonged to the subsp. albensis. This taxon is morphologically close to S. rubra but can be reliably distinguished by densely verrucose seeds and shorter than wide stipules.