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Centaurea stenolepis A. Kerner
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Five subspecies are in this species complex. The typical one is a Central European element, while the other four are endemic for various regions from the northern Balkans with the exception of ssp. bansagensis which occurs only in south-western Romania (mountains and adiacent hills from south-western Transylvania and the western Meridional Carpathians). Apart from Centaurea phrygia L. and its close relatives this species never acts like a ruderal and is a characteristic species for primary well preserved grasslands, usually on rocky substratum.The typical species stenolepis seems to be frequent in Romania only in Zarand Mountains and Lipova Tableland, and very rare in Transylvania. It is a mesic taxon from the forests' clearings. Mentioned also from many counties in Moldavia the exact presence of this species there sould be checked due to confusions with some varieties of Centaurea phrygia with recurved involucram appendages. Images with this species from Central Europe (The Czech Republic) can be seen here, here, here, here and here. Piatra Cetii calcareous massif, Trascau Mountains, Alba county, September 2005. dr. Alexandru Badarau, alexandru@transsilvanica.net
Pictures taken from between Pietroasa and Podeni, Cluj county, on 29th of July 2006 on mesic and mesoxeric meadow-steppe grasslands developed on massive gypsum rocks. dr. Alexandru Badarau, alexandru@transsilvanica.com
A comparison in this photo can be seen between the ruderal Centaurea phrygia (the two anthodia to the left) collected nearby the location and Centaurea stenolepis (the two anthodia from the right)
Pictures taken in August 2009 in the same place as above. Sadly, in July and August 2010 the local population seems to be totally vanished, dr. Alexandru Badarau, alexandru@transsilvanica.net
Pictures taken in Piatra Cetii natural reservation area, Trascau Mountains, Alba county, on the plateau of the calcareous massif there on 20th of August 2006. dr. Alexandru Badarau, alexandru@transsilvanica.com
Podeni, Cluj county at "Ungureasca" a small 1000 sqm population surrounded completely by a ruderal population of Centaurea phrygia (at the contact there is a clear complete ring of hybrids). 13th of September 2010. dr. Alexandru Badarau, alexandru@transsilvanica.net
The image above belongs to var. fastigiata (Grec.) stat. nov. prov.
Cladova valley, upstream the village of Cladova, Arad county, August 2010. These rich populations from Cladova valley and from the forest patches immediately to the west (Minis, Paulis, Siria) - that means the western border of Zarand Mountains - and also from the Zarand Corridor along Crisul Alb river to the north, were considered by Prodan and Nyarady (1950) as a 'mesophytic variety of Centaurea simonkaiana Hayek' named Centaurea simonkaiana Hayek var. fusca Prodan et Nyarady. These plants has nothing to do with the xeric-mesoxeric local endemic plant from Gurahont - Baltele Hill in concerning morphology and ecology and they are in fact Centaurea stenolepis A. Kerner. This later species is however mentioned from the same area as frequent by the authors of a later study upon the flora and vegetation of Zarand Mountains (though they did not delete the so called mesophytic variety of Centaurea simonkaiana from their inventory). dr. Alexandru Badarau, alexandru@transsilvanica.com
A small patch of forest combined with a Robinia plantation east of Cuvin, Arad county, at the very western border of the Zarand Mountains dr. Alexandru Badarau, alexandru@transsilvanica.com
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