the former populations of Plantago maxima Juss. from Sibiu
A SRTM DEM of western Romania. With five small black dots are marked the former five last populations of the species west from Sibiu.
The map from Schneider-Binder (1978) which shows the location of the five last populations of the species west from Sibiu. Black dots - 'large populations', white dots - 'small populations'.
A Google Earth image of the western part of Sibiu floodplain with the situation of the five last populations of Plantago maxima mentioned by Schneider-Binder (1978). To see their emplacements in more detail download this file . Please add the .kmz extension after downloading it. You can see the quite dense network of channels and drainage ditches overimposing and destroying the former network of natural rivulet beds which can still be seen on the map from 1978 of Schneider-Binder (see above).
SRTM DEM model showing the dimensions of the perimeter between the four populations, the presumable last minimal range of Plantago maxima west from Sibiu city.
This is how the majority of the perimeter north from Ruscior rivulet and east from DJ 106B (Sura Mica - DN1 highway) looks like. An obsolete landscape
detroyed by deep draining and sheep and cattle overgrazing. The main phytocenoses here belong to Lolio perenne - Trifolietum repentis Krippelova 1964,
a very 'nice' type of association as banal as... Well, however, this is the space which while respecting the PUG approved by Sibiu County Council will become
a protected area. Of course, Plantago maxima has huge populations here.
Another aspect of the Sibiu floodplain, a former home to vast meadow-steppe grasslands.
The emplacement of one of the five populations - p3, today (p3).
The railway canton 398 mentioned by Schneider-Binder (1978) on p. 161-163 as sheltering in its neighborhoods populations of Plantago maxima in the phytocenoses
of the association Deschampsietum caespitosae subass. caricetosum paniceae (Sibiu, Lunca Rusciorului (Raussbauchaue) am linken Ufer ders
Krummbach (paraul Stramb od. Rasloavele) neben dem Bahnwarterhauschen 398 a der Strecke Sibiu-Ocna Sibiului, 14.06.1969).
An aspect from near the canton 398 (p5 in the Google Earth and SRTM image above)
the former population p2 of Plantago maxima standed somewhere here.
The outskirts of Sibiu city expands towards west, not far away already from the former emplacement of the population p5.
Around the former place of the population p1 there are still quite interesting and well preserved meadow-steppe grasslands but most of them too tall for
Plantago maxima. In the first plan you can see the blue flowers of a typical species of well-preserved meadow-steppe grasslands (when represented by large populations)
Clematis integrifolia (here there are unfortunately only a few individuals). The tall grassland in the image is dominated by Calamagrostis epigeios and Schneider-Binder (1978)
never indicated Plantago maxima as growing within these high standing phytocenoses.
Another look around the place of the former population p2.
Around the former place of the population p2.
Rich tall meadow-steppe grassland with Calamagrostis epigeios.