Distribution and ecology of Carex secalina in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Current and historical occurrence as well as coenotic affinity and ecology of Carex secalina in the Czech Republic and Slovakia are presented. The study is based on revision of herbarium specimens from 25 herbaria, literature data excerption and a field survey carried out during 2004-2010. Altogether, 168 sites were documented in the Czech Republic divided to two separate areas. Stabile occurrence trend was found in last decades, because 45 localities were documented in period 1975-1999 (27% of sites) and recent occurrence was confirmed at 42 localities (24% of sites). On the basis of our current knowledge the species was included into the IUCN threat category VU (vulnerable). In Slovakia, 19 localities of the species were recorded in total, but only 4 sites were confirmed recently (21% of sites recorded). However, only a small number of individuals was recorded there (less than 50 individuals in total) and half of this sites is acutely threatened by destruction (ploughing, secondary succession). Therefore, the C. secalina status in the Slovak Red List was changed to the IUCN category "critically endangered" (CR). Results of the study are summarised in the maps of historical and current species distribution. C. secalina usually occurred in halophytic grassland communities, especially in association Agrostio stoloniferae-Juncetum ranarii Vicherek 1962. However, it may occur in many other communities which suggest that the species had not well-defined coenotic relationships. On the basis of our knowledge, we consider C. secalina as an obligate halophyte

Distributions of vascular plants in the Czech Republic. Part 8

The eighth part of the series on the distributions of vascular plants in the Czech Republic includes grid maps of 106 taxa in the genera Abutilon, Achillea. Arctium, Arenaria. Arnoseris, Carex. Chamaecytisus, Cornus, Diphasiastrum, Echinops. Galeopsis. Galium, Huperzia, Isoetes. Lyco-podiella. Lycopodium. Moehringia, Orobanche, Phelipanche, Prunus, Ranunculus, Selaginella. Stachys, Telekia, Typha and Zannichellia. These maps were produced by taxonomic experts based on examined herbarium specimens, literature and field records. Many of the studied native species are on the national Red List. They are represented by plants that are rare in the Czech Republic, in extreme cases confined to single sites (Arenaria grandiflora. Galium austriacum, Isoetes echinospora, I. lacustris and Orobanche teucrii). or that have experienced a considerable decline (e.g. Arnoseris minima. Carex hordeistichos, C. secalina. Diphasiastrum tristachyum and Lycopodiella inundata), or a combination of both (e.g. Orobanche artemisiae-campestris. O. coerulescens, Phelipanche arenaria. Ph. caesia and Stachys germanica). Three species (Moehringia muscosa, Selaginella helvetica and Typha minima) have been extirpated from this country. Alien species are represented by both archaeophytes (e.g. Arctium lappa, A. tomentosum, Orobanche minor, Stachys annua and S. arvensis) and neophytes (e.g. Abutilon theophrasti and Typha laxmannii). Two species have become invasive: Echinops sphaerocephalus spreads mainly in dry and disturbed habitats along roads and railways in warm lowlands, whereas Telekia speciosa is now locally frequent in various habitats mainly at middle and high elevations. Echinops bannaticus is reported here as a new alien species in the Czech Republic that occasionally escapes from cultivation. Spatial distributions and often also temporal dynamics of individual taxa are shown in maps and documented by records included in the Pladias database and available in electronic appendices. The maps are accompanied by comments that include additional information on the distribution, habitats, taxonomy and biology of the taxa

Distributions of vascular plants in the Czech Republic. Part 2

The second part of the publication series on the istributions of vascular plants in the Czech Republic includes grid maps of 87 taxa of the genera Antennaria, Aposeris, Astragalus, Avenula, Bidens, Carex, Cenchrus, Centunculus, Convallaria, Crocus, Cryptogramma, Cyperus, Dryopteris, Gladiolus, Gratiola, Helictochloa, Hierochloë, Lindernia, Maianthemum, Myriophyllum, Notholaena, Nymphoides, Radiola, Schoenoplectus, Sisyrinchium, Spergularia, Tillaea, Veratrum and Veronica. The maps were produced by taxonomic experts based on all available herbarium, literature and field records. The plants studied include 56 taxa registered in the Red List of vascular plants of the Czech Republic, some of which showed remarkable declines. Spatial and temporal dynamics of individual species are shown in maps and documented by records included in the Pladias database and available in Electronic appendices. The maps are accompanied by comments, which include additional information on distribution, habitats, taxonomy and biology of the species

Distributions of vascular plants in the Czech Republic. Part 1

Despite a long history of botanical research on the Czech flora and the large amount of data on plant distribution that has been collected, there is still no comprehensive piece of work with distribution maps in this country and no distribution maps are available for more than a half of plant taxa. This paper is the first part of a series of publications prepared within the PLADIAS project, intended as the first step towards a complete atlas of the distribution of both native and alien vascular plants in the Czech Republic. It contains grid distribution maps of 75 taxa of the genera Achillea, Aegilops, Aira, Alopecurus, Avena, Bolboschoenus, Carex, Cladium, Elatine, Eleocharis, Eriophorum, Glyceria, Polypogon, Sclerochloa, Scheuchzeria, Sparganium, Tofieldia, Tragus and Viola. The maps are based on all available herbarium, literature and field records, which were stored at the CzechDistrib database, checked geographically and evaluated taxonomically, and shown inmaps using the Central European mapping grid template derived from quadrants of 5 × 3 arc minutes (corresponding to approximately 5.5 × 5.9 km). Many of these maps resulted from detailed revisions carried out during the work on the Flora of the Czech Republic. Maps of taxonomically difficult groups are based solely or mainly on herbarium specimens revised by taxonomic experts. If useful, recent versus old records, native versus alien occurrences, or records based on revised herbarium specimens versus all other records are distinguished using different symbols. Records used for producing maps are listed in electronic appendices. The maps are accompanied by texts that include an outline of general distribution, information on habitats and specific details on the distribution in the country. Where appropriate, comments on taxonomy, biology or spatial and temporal dynamics in distribution are given

Pregled historične in trenutne razširjenosti vrste Hordeum geniculatum All. (Poaceae) na Slovaškem

Historical and current occurrence of halophytic-ruderal species Hordeum geniculatum was studied in Slovakia during 2003 – 2010. The species occurred only in the Podunajská nížina Lowland, where 16 sites were found in total including historical and recent locations. Recently, the number of sites decreased markedly and we confirmed only four localities. Due to the sharp decrease in the number of sites and proper habitats, Hordeum geniculatum is re-evaluated as endangered (EN) plant of Slovak flora.V članku smo obravnavali historično in trenutno razširjenost halofitsko-ruderalne vrste Hordeum geniculatum na Slovaškem med leti 2003–2010. Vrsta se pojavlja le v nižini Podunajská nížina, kjer smo našli 16 lokalitet, vključno historičnih in recentnih. V zadnjem času je število rastišč zelo upadlo in potrdili smo samo štiri lokalitete. Zaradi močnega zmanjšanja števila lokalitet in primernih rastišč, predlagamo da se vrsta Hordeum geniculatum v flori Slovaške obravnava kot ogrožena (EN)

Razširjenost in združbe vrst Crypsis aculeata in Heleochloa schoenoides na Slovaškem

The distribution and communities of two annual grasses Crypsis aculeata and Heleochloa schoenoides were studied in Slovakia during 2003–2007. Herbarium and field data were used to reconstruct the occurrence of both taxa. A strong decline in C. aculeata localities was observed. This was mainly due to the destruction of periodically flooded saline habitats. By contrast, the occurrence of H. schenoides was changed only slightly. This species survives in secondary habitats (rural roads, field margins, field depressions). Point maps of historical and recent distribution are presented. Halophile vegetation of Crypsis aculeata and Heleochloa schoenoides has been sampled with the adapted Braun-Blanquet method. All collected relevés have been classified using the JUICE software. The results showed that the Crypsidetum aculeate Wenzl 1934 community is missing now in Slovakia, but Heleochloetum schoenoidis (Soó 1933) Ţopa 1939 was still recorded at a few sites. However, the community contained many ruderal plant species.Raziskave razširjenosti dveh enoletnih trav Crypsis aculeata in Heleochloa schoenoides smo raziskovali na Slovaškem med letoma 2003 in 2007. Za rekonstrukcijo pojavljanja obeh vrst smo uporabili herbarijske in terenske podatke. Opazili smo močno upadanje števila nahajališč, kjer se pojavlja C. aculeata. Razlog je predvsem uničenje periodično poplavljenih slanih rastišč. Nasprotno pa se je pojavljanje vrste H. schenoides le malo spremenilo. Vrsta lahko uspeva tudi na sekundarnih rastiščih (kolovozi, robovi njiv, uleknine na njivah). Historično in recentno razširjenost smo prikazali na točkovnih kartah. Halofilno vegetacijo vrst Crypsis aculeata in Heleochloa schoenoides smo vzorčili s prilagojeno Braun-Blanquetovo metodo. Vse popisno gradivo smo klasificirali s programom JUICE. Rezultati so pokazali, da asociacije Crypsidetum aculeate Wenzl 1934 na Slovaškem ne najdemo več, medtem ko je bila asociacija Heleochloetum schoenoidis (Soó 1933) Ţopa 1939 najdena na nekaj rastiščih, vendar se v njej pojavljajo številne ruderalne rastlinske vrste

Pregled razširjenosti vrste Pholiurus pannonicus (Host.) Trin. na Slovaškem

Historical and current occurrence of the obligate halophyte Pholiurus pannonicus was studied in Slovakia during the period 2003–2009. The species had been occurring in the Podunajská nížina Lowland and the Východoslovenská nížina Lowland; 30 localities were found in total. Recently the number of localities has decreased markedly and the species was confirmed only in the Podunajská nížina Lowland. We documented only seven localities during the study. Therefore, we confirmed that Pholiurus pannonicus belongs to the critically endangered plants of Slovak flora.Preučili smo pojavljanje obligatne halofitske vrste Pholiurus pannonicus v Podunajski nížini in Východoslovenski nížini v letih od 2003 do 2009. Vrsta se je pojavljala. Našli smo 30 rastišč. V zadnjem času se je število rastišč močno zmanjšalo in jih najdemo samo še v Podunajski nížini. Med raziskavo smo dokumentirali le sedem nahajališč. Vrsta Pholiurus pannonicus zato sodi med kritično ogorožene vrste flore Slovaške

A new cytotype of Jacobaea vulgaris (Asteraceae): frequency, morphology and origin

Jacobaea vulgaris subsp. vulgaris (syn. Senecio jacobaea subsp. jacobaea) constitutes an intricate polyploid complex distributed in Europe. Four cytotypes have been reported in this species, three with euploid (diploid, tetraploid and octoploid; 2n020, 40 and 80) and one with aneuploid (2n 032) chromosome numbers. Here we report that the diploid chromosome number (2n020) reported from Bulgaria is due to misidentification with Jacobaea aquatica. On the other hand, we have discovered a new, hexaploid (2n 06x060) cytotype within J. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris using flow cytometry. The new cytotype occurs within four sympatric populations of otherwise tetraploid and octoploid plants in Pannonia (one locality in the eastern Czech Republic and two localities in southwestern Slovakia) and in Podillya (one locality in western Ukraine). The frequency of hexaploid individuals within 76 studied populations is very low (only 10 of 693 analysed plants), and hexaploids probably represent hybrids between tetraploid and octoploid plants. Three mixed populations with hexaploid plants were subjected to detailed morphological and pollen fertility analyses. Multivariate morphometric analysis reveals partial separation of tetraploid and octoploid plants, whereas hexaploid individuals are similar in morphology to octoploids. In comparison with tetraploids, octoploids and hexaploids exhibit slightly longer ray florets, involucral bracts and tubular florets and more hairy outer achenes. Hexaploid plants display larger pollen grains and lower pollen fertility compared to tetraploids and octoploids