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Centaurea orientalis L.
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A mesoxeric splendid and typical species for the Pontic forest-steppe. It is common in the eastern half of the country and very rare in Banat and Transylvania.Immediately east from Balauseri, Mures county. Discovered in 1977 by Erzsbete Fulop, published in her graduating thesis (conducted by dr. Ioan Pop) this locality was the first certain indication of this plant from the Transylvanian Basin (after the one provided in the XIXth century by Baumgarten from Coldau / Rupea, Brasov county). Since 1996 when we first checked the place the population was reduced a lot because of sheep overgrazing despite the fact that since then the territory was included in a NATURA 2000 ROSAC site. The photographs below are made in June 2009. dr. Alexandru Badarau, alexandru@transsilvanica.net
In the seven photographs below there is shown the variety of the species with ochroleucous flowers named var. elisabetae Badarau, Groza et Pestina (named after the discoveror of this site, Erzsebet Fulop). The variety seems to be endemic for Transylvania.
Barcut. Brasov county, Chiolom / Chilom Hill (in German, Hirschhorn). This site was provided as a verbal information by a geographer named Wachner to Iuliu Prodan in the 30s of the XXth century. Unfortunately the keybook used for the identification by Wachner was probably that of Karl Ungar "Die Flora Siebenburgens" (1925) where the single species of the genus Centaurea with large yellow anthodia mentioned was Centaurea ruthenica. Since then, all the flora manuals of Romania indicate this latter species as present here. A check of the site we have conducted in June 1996 proved that in fact this place is the second locality known of Centaurea orientalis from Transylvania. The photographs below were made in June 2009. dr. Alexandru Badarau, alexandru@transsilvanica.net
In June 1996 the species was present abundantly also on the mounds ('glimeas') present in the photographs below. In June 2009 Centaurea orientalis remain located only around the top of the Chiolom Hill.
In the photographs below there are presented bud anthodia of Centaurea X neglecta (the hybrid between Centaurea orientalis and Centaurea apicaulata ssp. spinulosa) and also of the parental species. The hybrid has whitish flowers.
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