Pisum elatius in the flora of Bulgaria

At the Northern Black Sea coast – Kaliakra cape and Yailata (Kamen briyag) are identified as two localities of Pisum elatius. Pisum elatius is one of the priority species of wild relatives of grain legumes crops group, more specifically for the cultivated pea (Pisum sativum). The localities are quoted at the flora of Bulgaria and have been confirmed by the team annually for the period 1998 – 2020. Plant morphological description in the flowering phase and bean formation is done and the structure, size and populations vulnerability are described. The differences in the species at both localities are found in the plant's habitus, height and positioning. Seeds from the species have been collected for ex situ collection.

Bromus diandrus (Poaceae), an addition to the Bulgarian flora

The current report discusses Bromus diandrus, a new species in the flora of Bulgaria. A concise description of its morphological features with an emphasis on the characters that distinguish it from the already known representatives of Bromus sect. Genea in the country is presented. The newly established locality is characterized floristically and ecologically. The probabilities of the native or alien origin of the studied population are also discussed.

Crocus adamioides (Iridaceae) in Bulgarian flora

Crocus adamioides Kernd. et Pasche, as recently known, was originally treated as C. biflorus Mill. subsp. adamii B. Mathew in the flora of Bulgaria by Mathew (1982) and verified by Rukšāns (2017). The taxon was afterwards described as a separate species (Kerndorff et al. 2012), with the holotype collected in Kırklareli Province, European Turkey. The species was for the first time mapped in two floristic regions of Bulgaria. The diagnostic characters based on the general morphology and leaf anatomy were defined from the natural populations of the species and compared to the type specimen and relevant data from the literature. The phylogenetic position of the species was clarified by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS: ITS1 + 5.SsrDNA + ITS2) and comparison of the obtained sequence with those annotated in NCBI. A phylogenetic tree was built using Bayesian phylogeny. Results have shown highest phylogenetic similarity with C. adamioides from Turkey. The closest relative C. ranjeloviciorum Kernd., Pasche, Harpke et Raca remains in proximity. Our morphological, anatomical and molecular analyses have revealed that the Bulgarian population shows a peculiar combination of characters specific to C. adamioides.

The Woody Flora of Bulgaria: A Review

This review presents a brief survey of the Bulgarian dendroflora. The country is situated in the transition zone between the continental and Mediterranean climate and,therefore, considerable habitat diversity exists on its territory. About 370 species – trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs – have been established up until today. An overview of the species'diversity, woody formations and their distribution is presented. The data show that Bulgaria is characterised by a relatively rich dendroflora that needs appropriate close-to-nature management and measures for its conservation.