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Dactylorhiza traunsteineri (Saut. ex Rchb.) Soó: an unexpected record in the Romanian flora
15-24Views:103Dactylorhiza Necker ex Nevski is a complex genus. The taxonomy of these dactylorchids is widely considered to be complicated due to relatively high morphological variability within species and high frequency of hybridization between species. During a floristic survey of the Valea Morii (Morii Valley, Malomvölgy) Nature Reserve in June 2017, a population of Dactylorhiza traunsteineri (Saut. ex. Rchb.) Soó, a species with uncertain presence in the Romanian flora was found. In the Morii Valley, this narrow-leaved marsh-orchid was encountered in fen-patches, in phytocoenoses of the plant association Orchido-Schoenetum nigricantis Oberd. 1957. Due to the cool and wet microclimate of the Morii Valley, many glacial relicts and other plant rarities (e.g. Tofieldia calyculata (L.) Wahlenb., Swertia perennis (L.), Liparis loeselii (L.) Rich., Ophioglossum vulgatum L. Schoenus nigricans L.) had been able to survive on strongly humid places on calcareous soils. This study reports the first occurrence of D. traunsteineri in Romania confirming the presence of a highly debated taxon. We also discuss the morphological features, habitat preference and conservation status of this new species in the Romanian Flora.
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Carpathian, Transylvanian, Dacian and Pannonian elements in the flora of Sălaj region (NW Romania)
259-267Views:158This paper gives an account of biogeographically interesting plant species of the traditional ethnographic region Sălaj (in Hungarian: “Szilágyság”, NW Romania). The flora of the region, which is situated between the Transylvanian Basin and the eastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain, contains, besides the prevailing European species, a significant percentage of plant species from different biogeographic regions. Among these we noticed the continental species of eastern origin, as well as southern Sub-Mediterranean species broadly distributed in this area. A significant number of other interesting species is further represented by the endemic and sub-endemic Carpathian (Aconitum moldavicum Hacq., Symphytum cordatum Waldst. & Kit.), Transylvanian (Cephalaria radiata Griseb. & Schenk, Onosma pseudoarenaria Schur subsp. pseudoarenaria), Dacian (Helleborus purpurascens Waldst. & Kit., Phyteuma tetramerum Schur) and Pannonian (Centaurea sadleriana Janka), species, which occur in very different habitats.
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Rediscovery of Gymnadenia frivaldii Hampe ex Griseb. at its northern distribution limit (Eastern Carpathians, Romania)
213-220Views:200Frivald’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.
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Contributions to the distribution of Arabis nemorensis (Cruciferae) in Hungary
155-169Views:117Arabis 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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×Pseudorhiza bruniana in the Harghita Mts (Romania, E Carpathians)
249–250Views:181The discovery of a single individual of ×Pseudorhiza bruniana (Brügger) P.F.Hunt (Dactylorhiza maculata (L.) Soó × Pseudorchis albida (L.) Á. Löve & D. Löve) in a fen meadow of the Harghita Mts (Romania, East Carpathians) is briefly discussed. This is the first record of the nothotaxon in Romania, as well as in Central Europe.
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Flora of Sztána and Zsobok villages (Transsylvania, Apuseni Mountains, Kalotaszeg)
114-132Views:136The botanical and ethnobotanical studies of PÉNTEK & SZABÓ (1985) were repeated after 30 years, during an ethnobiological summer school held in Kalotaszeg region (Romania), in Apuseni Mountains. However, our intensive floristical researches focused only on two villages (Sztána and Zsobok). A list of the observed taxa and their frequency values are presented. Of the 747 taxa 52 are new to the narrow region. 74 species reported formerly from here were not found by us. The disappearance of some taxa (e.g. Crepis praemorsa, Conringia orientalis, Lolium temulentum) are probably due to changes in agricultural land use methods. The spread of a few new invasive species (e.g. Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Galinsoga ciliata, Senecio vernalis) as well as the presence of some floristically interesting species (e.g. Centaurium pulchellum, Carex otrubae, C. serotina, Lathyrus pannonicus subsp. collinus, Leucanthemum irrcutianum, Minuartia viscosa, Peucedanum rochelianum, Quercus pubescens, Trifolium diffusum, T. micranthum) and a notomorpha (Cirsium × tataricum) were also noticed.
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Disappearing botanical and cultural heritage of wooden headboard-graveyards in Eastern-Hungary and Transylvania (Romania)
51-64Views:180Degradation or disappearance of natural habitats are global phenomena nowadays, hence the role of small and secondary (seminatural) habitats like cemeteries in preserving natural values are more and more appreciated. The botanical values and burial customs were examined in a total of 51 graveyards in three different regions of Hungary and Romania (10, 19 and 22 graveyards in the North Hungarian Mountains, the Great Hungarian Plain and Transylvania, respectively). Altogether 25 in Hungary legally protected plant species were found, 1.5 protected species per graveyard on average. As we observed, traditional burials with wooden headboards are rapidly superseded by modern burial customs. Based on our non-representative poll (n=102), 90% of citizens on average are satisfied with current conditions in Hungarian graveyards. A two-thirds majority of respondents would prefer more frequent lawn-mowing in graveyards. 75% of respondents prefer modern tombs to traditional graves. Disappearance of old burial customs characterised by the use of wooden headboards (and the simultaneous change in traditional, habitat-friendly practices in graveyards) means not only a loss of cultural values, but threatens the natural biodiversity of graveyards as well.
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The Sea milkwort (Glaux maritima) in the Carpathian Basin
10-20Views:336Sea milkwort (Glaux maritima L.) is a broadly distributed species in the northern hemisphere, inhabiting primarily maritime habitats from the arctic to the temperate zones. It is also found inland in semi-arid and arid regions with saline soils. Its status in the Carpathian Basin has become very uncertain owing to the lack of known extant populations. To evaluate its current status, I review all known occurrences within the Carpathian Basin where this species has been recorded or collected, and report five new localities of the species in Hungary, all in the western part of the Great Hungarian Plain. I also analyze habitat relationships of the species using traditional phytosociological relevés. Review of species distribution data in the Carpathian Basin revealed that sea milkwort has undergone severe reduction in population number and disappeared from many localities. Currently, only a few populations can be found in this region: the Northern Carpathians in Slovakia and the western part of the Great Plain in Hungary. In Transylvania (Romania), only a single population has been reported recently suggesting the critical status of the species there. Features of the habitats confirm the halophytic nature of the species and its fidelity to wet saline meadows. Its common accompanying species are mostly broadly distributed, salt-tolerant plants. Heterogeneity of the samples in species composition suggests that sea milkwort is not a habitat-specialist species. Several of its common associates in Hungary are also found in sea milkwort habitats in Mongolia, Asia and Utah, North America. Based on the available evidence, sea milkwort shall be considered a severely threatened plant in the Carpathian Basin. Characteristics of the vegetation in its habitats do not explain its occurrence in mountainous environments.
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Lectotypification of Thesium kernerianum Simonk.
69-74Views:95Thesium kernerianum is an endemic species of the Eastern Carpathians (in broad sense). The paper includes a survey of the discovery as well as the literature and herbarium records of this species. The name is lectotypified, and a few inaccuracies appearing in the literature are corrected.
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Short communications
365-370Views:1701. Occurrence of Apium repens (Jacq.) Lagasca in Budapest (Hungary)
2. Occurrence of Riccia glauca L. and Riccia sorocarpa Bisch. in town of Barcs
3. Occurrence of Allium victorialis L. in Gorge Vargyas (Cheile Vârghişului, Central Romania)
4. Huperzia selago (L.) Bernh. on the plateau of Bükk Mts. (NE Hungary) and other floristic records
5. Campylopus pyriformis (Schultz) Brid. in the Western Mecsek Mts. (South Transdanubia, Hungary)
6. Current occurrence of Echinops ruthenicus (Fisch.) M.Bieb. in Sződliget (northern central Hungary)
7. The occurrence of Artemisia alba Turra in Kalotaszeg region (Cluj county) of Romania, and comments on Molnár et al. (2014)
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Cyperus odoratus in Hungary
157–164Views:331Eleven 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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The herbarium of the Botanical Garden of Eötvös Loránd University (BPU)
55–59Views:259The paper introduces the herbarium of Eötvös Loránd University (BPU), currently stored at the Botanical Garden of the University, according to its state in the year 2013. The BPU herbarium consists of ca. 16 000 specimens the relevant data of which have been organised into an OpenOffice Calc spreadsheet database. The specimens were collected in 16 European countries, mainly in the current territory of Hungary (80%), Romania (12%) and Slovakia (5%). Other countries are represented with very few specimens. The vast majority (ca. 70%) of the Hungarian specimens were collected in Pest, Veszprém, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties. Although the gatherings cover a century and a half period of time, the most rapid growth of the collection took place from the 1930s to the 1960s. The most prolific collectors were Rezső Soó and his followers: Lajos Felföldy, Tibor Simon and Szaniszló Priszter. Felföldy and Simon enriched the collection through more than 60 years. Data on the 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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Lajos Felföldy: a prominent Hungarian botanist and hydrobiologist
3–25Views:213Lajos Felföldy (1920–2016) was one of the most versatile and open-minded Hungarian biologists. He began his scientific career as a student of Prof. Rezső Soó. Between 1938 and 1946 he participated in geobotanical studies in University of Debrecen and Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca, Romania). He contributed with important achievements to the development of several biological disciplines. His pioneering study on the effects of air pollution on epiphytic lichens (1942) was among the firsts in the world. He described Hemitherophyte life-form as a discrete unit within Raunkiaer's plant life-form system (1942). He was a pioneer in the cytological (caryological) study of wild vascular plant species in Hungary (1947–1949). His results regarding to primary production of freshwater algae and algal culture (1958–1960) were in leading edge. In 1972 he founded and until 1990 edited the Hungarian series entitled ‘Vízűgyi Hidrobiológia’. Books of this series aimed to publish identification keys of freshwater taxa. These books were proved to be decisive and useful tools for Hungarian hydrobiologists in biological classification of brooks, streams, rivers and different types of stagnant waters. Between 1934 and 2009 he collected more than ten thousand herbarium sheets. After his retirement, he dealt with the revision of the herbarium material of Department of Botany in Hungarian Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden of Eötvös University (Budapest). He participated in the preparation of the New Hungarian Herbal. His scientific work was characterised by deep humility for nature, which was founded on strong theoretical and practical background.
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In memoriam Kálmán Vánky (1930–2021)
137–139Views:175The author remembers Kálmán Vánky and recalls their personal encounters since 1956. Vánky was a world-famous Székely-Hungarian researcher of smut fungi, an honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, who came from Szeklerland (Romania) to Sweden and worked from 1986 in Tübingen (Germany).
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Short communications
168-174Views:2841. Occurrence of Lycopodium clavatum L. in 'Egri-Bükkalja' microregion (NE Hungary)
2. Contribution to the urban flora of Debrecen (E Hungary)
3. Contributions to the distribution data published in the Atlas of Hungarian Orchids
4. New occurrence of Sisyrinchium bermudiana L. in the Carpathian Basin (Transylvania, Romania)
5. Occurrence of Myagrum perfoliatum L. near Mezőberény town (East Hungary)