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Spreading along the railways: morphology and invasion success of Vulpia ciliata in Hungary
145–156Views:469Vulpia 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 purple viper's bugloss (Echium plantagineum), a new adventive species for Hungary
199-206Views:841Following global trends, the number of newly established alien plant species is increasing in Hungary. Not only professional scientists but also citizens could contribute to the discovery and documentation of new occurrences. One of the first records of the purple viper’s bugloss (Echium plantagineum L.) in Hungary originate from an online group dealing with wild plant species identification. This species is native in Western Mediterranean countries, and is introduced to other continents. In Australia, it is a well-spread, largely problematic invasive species, and it might show similar tendencies in Hungary as well. In order to acquaint the wider public with this species, we present its morphology, phenology and other characteristics and provide a possible inlay in the Hungarian identification key.
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Oak-hornbeam and turkey oak forests growing on sand on the foothills of the Pilis Range (Corydali pumilae-Carpinetum, Fraxino orno-Quercetum cerridis)
79–105Views:159We studied the phytosociological characteristics of hornbeam and turkey oak dominated forests growing on sand at the southwestern foot of the Pilis Mountains. Here we present the results of analyses of 10 relevés of each community. The species composition of the hornbeam forest samples is characterized by a relatively high proportion of Fagetalia species. Notable species in the community are Aconitun vulparia, Berberis vulgaris, Epipactis helleborine agg., Galanthus nivalis, Geranium lucidum, Lilium martagon, Omphalodes scorpioides, Piptatherum virescens, Primula veris, Scilla vindobonensis, Sorbus aria agg., S. domestica, Veratrum nigrum, and Waldsteinia geoides. In the turkey oak forests, species characteristic of the class Quercetea pubescentis-petraeae have the highest proportion. Notable and locally typical species occurring in the community are Anthericum ramosum, Digitalis grandiflora, Iris variegata, Piptatherum virescens, Primula veris, Achillea distans, Dictamnus albus, Galanthus nivalis, Lonicera xylosteum, Scilla vindobonensis, Sorbus domestica, Veratrum nigrum, as well as Lunaria annua and Tilia tomentosa that are possibly introduced here. Based on the results of statistical analyses, the two forest communities are best identified with the associations named Corydali pumilae-Carpinetum and Fraxino orno-Quercetum cerridis, both occurring in the Transdanubian Mountain Range.
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Cyperus odoratus in Hungary
157–164Views:278Eleven 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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Najas gracillima (A. Braun ex Engelmann) Magnus in Hungary
43-49Views:74Najas gracillima, an introduced species to Europe, naturally occurs in East-Asia and NorthAmerica. It was firstly discovered in Hungary in 2012 in our weed survey of rice fields in the vicinity of Szarvas, Gyomaendrőd and Mezőtúr. Although, it occurred in relatively high abundances in the rice fields along the Körös river its invasion is not expected into new habitats in the near future due to its special habitat preference and gregariousness.
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The subgenus Ceratochloa (DC. et P. Beauv.) Hack. (Bromus L., Poaceae) in Hungary
44-47Views:124The subgenus Ceratochloa is a taxonomically difficult small group of the genus Bromus. The species of this subgenus are mostly native to America, and are often introduced to other continents. Two species of them, namely B. catharticus and B. carinatus have been reported from Hungary so far. Bromus catharticus was first found in Győr city in the 1910s, much later (in the 2000s) in Környe and Kálmánháza villages. The Hungarian records of B. carinatus come from Keszthely and Sopron cities. We have recently found two new occurrences of B. catharticus in the city of Pécs, South Hungary.
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Short communications
257–266Views:5801. Occurrence of Ophioglossum vulgatum in a dry loess grassland in the Tiszafüred–Kunhegyes plain (Great Hungarian Plain)
2. Dolomite rocky grassland species introduced by raw materials of a road construction (Kecskemét, Great Hungarian Plain)
3. Geranium divaricatum on the Hevesi-sík, next to Füzesabony (Great Hungarian Plain)
4. Ophrys sphegodes in the Castriferreicum (W Hungary)
5. First occurrence of Cephalanthera longifolia var. rosea in Hungary
6. Spiraea crenata in the Eastern Bakony Mts (Transdanubian Range, Hungary)
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Cardamine occulta Hornem. in Hungary, and other stowaways of the ornamental plant trade
195–214Views:441During 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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Dry oak woods on the Szentendre Island
147-178Views:128The phytosociological characteristics of the oak woods on the Szentendre Island were first studied 70 years ago. We conducted a follow-up study to determine the phytosociological relationships of theses woods and assess their possible changes over time. We found that these woods are most similar in their phytosociological characteristics to the closed pedunculate oak forests occurring in the high floodplain in the Szigetköz area (Melico nutantis-Quercetum roboris) along the Danube. Our results also showed a marked increase in the proportion of natural weeds, introduced species and invasive aliens in the studied woods.
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A new alien species in Hungary: Limnobium laevigatum (Hydrocharitaceae)
9-15Views:245The South American Spongeplant (Limnobium laevigatum (Humb. & Bonpl. ex. Willd.) Heine) is a floating aquatic plant native to freshwater habitats of tropical and subtropical Central and South America. It is frequently used for ornamental purposes in ponds and aquariums, and became invasive in the recent decades around the world. It has a high reproductive potential and a high dispersal capacity as well. It can form massive floating mats causing light limitation and creating anoxic conditions in the underlying water column, which strongly reduces native animal and plant biomass and diversity. It can also hamper navigation and water flow in rivers and canals. It has been introduced to the United States, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. There is only one previous record in Europe (Belgium). This article is about the first record of Limnobium laevigatum in Hungary. I found two localities situated near Tata-Naszály and Dunaalmás (North-western part of Hungary). Both localities are fed by hot-water springs. It forms a small but dense population in Dunaalmás located near to the hot spring. The population in Tata-Naszály can be found in a 1.3 km long section of a stream, where it formed a sparse population in 2018.