The Moravica is a river in the southeast of Banat (Vojvodina Province,
Serbia). This relatively small river is characterised by great floristic
richness. A total of 87 taxa were found in the Moravica River. It is a
sanctuary for some plant species that are rare and endangered both in Serbia
and in Europe. Fifty-five species are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species and forty-five species are on the European Red List of Vascular
Plants. Species Acorus calamus L., Alisma gramineum Gmel., Iris pseudacorus
L., Marsilea quadrifolia L., Potamogeton fluitans Roth. and Utricularia
vulgaris L. are protected or strictly protected by law in Serbia. Some of
these rare species form stands of aquatic and semiaquatic vegetation rare
both in Banat and in Serbia in general, such as: Lemnetum (minori) -
trisulcae Den Hartog 1963, Potametum nodosi So? (1928) 1960, Segal 1964,
Acoreto - Glycerietum aquaticae Slavnic 1956, Rorippo - Oenanthetum (So?
1927) Lohm. 1950, Pop 1968, and Bolboschoenetum maritimi continentale So?
(1927) 1957 subass. marsiletosum quadrifoliae Ljevnaic-Masic (2010). Because
of its great diversity of flora and vegetation, the Moravica River could be a
potential Important Plant Area (IPA) in the future. Unfortunately, strong
anthropogenic influence is a threat to this unique flora and vegetation, so
appropriate and timely measures for protecting the aquatic ecosystem need to
be implemented.