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Centaurea kotschyana Heuffel

Flora Europaea mesic calciphile saxicole subalpine grassland species west Balkan - CarpathianBetulo-Adenostyletea, Pinion mugi, Junipero-Bruckenthalion, Festuco saxatilis-Seslerion bielzii  subalpine and boreal R31 habitats, subalpine and boreal R37s, R36 habitats  in Romania widely spread across the Carpathians but in quite isolated and sparse patches; not so frequent     This wonderful northern Balkan - Carpathian species is a boreal-subalpine saxicole mesic element which is ecologically vicariant with Centaurea atropurpurea  Waldst. et Kit.;though very similar to this species it differs constantly in every little detail, including the color of the flowers which is not as vivid and bright. Probably they should be considered only as subspecies of the same species. Centaurea kotschyana Heuffel belongs to the same evolutive 'group' of section Orientales of the subgenus Acrocentron with Centaurea atropurpurea Waldst. et Kit., Centaurea immanuelis-loewii Degen (southern Bulgaria, northern Greece), Centaurea grbavacensis (Rohlena) Acht. et Stoj. (FYROM), Centaurea murbeckii Hayek (FYROM). Especially the last one is very similar to Centaurea kotschyana the main differences seemingly being the monocephalic stems and the huge dimensions of the anthodia (almost double sized). This species should not be confused for Centaurea kotschyi Boiss. & Heldr. which is an Anatolian-Iranic species that belongs to another subgenus of Centaurea (see some images of this species here . They can be magnified to some fine details). The pictures  below were taken in Ciucas Massif, valea Berii area on 22nd of august 2006 and they proof for the presence of the species here at least in this isolated location. The taxon was not known before from the flora of Ciucas as can be seen in the book of Ciurca, M. (2001) - The Flora of Ciucas Mountains(in Romanian) , Ed. Ceres, Bucharest. The site is heavily accessible and the population quite small and situated right above the touristic track. You have only to be attentive and look upward from time to time to spot the plant. However due to the fact that it seems to be the unique population of the plant in these mountains we will not provide the precise coordinates but for serious scientifical purposes. dr. Alexandru Badarau, alexandru@transsilvanica.com