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Rediscovery of Gymnadenia frivaldii Hampe ex Griseb. at its northern distribution limit (Eastern Carpathians, Romania)
213-220Views:187Frivald’s Gymnadenia is a very rare Balkan species in the South-Eastern Carpathians. The specific epithet “frivaldii” honours Imre Frivaldszky (1799–1870), a Hungarian naturalist. The species occurs in the drawdown zone of mountain fens of the Balkan Peninsula (Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania), at elevations between 1000 and 2300 m. In the Carpathians the species was first reported from the Ţarcu Mts (Southern Carpathians) by János Heuffel. In 1874 Simonkai collected a specimen (BP 33967) in the Retezat Mts, but he was uncertain about its identity, thus this record eventually appeared as G. albida (Pseudorchis albida) in his monograph. Since then the species has been found at several localities in both the Retezat Mts (Mt Peleaga, Zănoaga, Zănoguţa, Ana and Bucura glacial lakes, Judele Valley) and the Ţarcu Mts. This paper reports on the discovery of Frivald’s Gymnadenia in the area of “Szökő-láp” (Harghita Mts, Eastern Carpathians), which can be considered a confirmation of the old literature record. This is the northernmost locality of this Balkan species known so far. The chorology and conservation status of G. frivaldii in the South-Eastern Carpathians are discussed.