Cardamine fialae Fritsch (Brassicaceae) a New Species in Croatian Flora

Abstract

-During a fl oristic survey of the northern slopes of Matokit Mountain in the surroundings of Vrgorac in central Dalmatia, a peculiar population of Cardamine belonging to the C. maritima complex was found. Because of its morphology, general habit, type of leaves and fruits, the collected plants were recognized as C. fi alae hitherto know only from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Morphologically, C. fi alae is similar to the Serbian endemic C. serbica with which it shares following characteristics: auricules at the base of lower cauline leaves, stem and rosette leaves bipinnate, margin of leafl ets serrate with hairy main stem and sepals, although it differs in having bigger petals and sepals, longer fi laments and 1-2 lateral stems. C. fi alae grows on lower altitudes in rocky ground within the vegetation of forest fringes of the sub-Mediterranean zone. This is the fi rst report of the endemic species C. fi alae in Croatian fl ora.

New floristic data of vascular plants from Bosnia and Herzegovina

“…Approximately 900 mature individuals were counted within the complete range of the species including Bosnian and Herzegovinian and Croatian locations. The threat status is based on the number of mature individuals, which is below 1000, as well as on the area of occupancy (AOO) which is less than 20 km 2 , while the extent of occurrence (EOO) is less than 90 km 2 (Vukojević et al, 2016). In addition, the habitat of the species may be affected by anthropogenic factors such as road construction or forest fires in the near future.…”

“…Cardamine fialae Fritsch belongs to the C. maritima complex, which includes seven endemic species, four of which are represented in Bosnia and where it was collected by Fiala back in 1892 (Two specimen from the actual locality were stored in the Herbarium GZU of the University of Graz like Isotypus) (Figure 2). Only recently it was also recorded as a new endemic species in neighboring Croatia, in the vicinity of Vrgorac, about ten kilometers distance from the locus classicus near Klobuk, Herzegovina (Vukojević et al, 2016, Vitasović Kosić et al, 2020. The species has limited distribution in Bosnia and Herzegovina; its (Pignatti, 1982) and its native distribution range is from the Iberian Peninsula in the west, throughout France, Italy and the Balkans, to the eastern Mediterranean countries, and in the north of Africa.…”