Abstract:
In this scientific paper, some
vascular plants (Aster lanceolatus Willd.,
Aster novi-belgii L., Fraxinus
pennsylvanica Marshall, Picris echioides L.
and Festuca tenuifolia Sibth.) were shown
as new species from the spontaneous flora
of Moldavia. We have also analysed new
data on some rare vascular species found in
the flora of this region (Coreopsis tinctoria
Nutt., Ulmus pumila L., Rudbeckia triloba
L., Rudbeckia hirta L., Lupinus polyphyllus
Lindl., Oenothera glazioviana Micheli and
Rhus typhina L.). One of these species is
native (Festuca tenuifolia Sibth.), while the
others are alien plants. Among the alien
species, Picris echioides L. is xenophyte
(accidentally introduced) and the others are
hemerophytes (intentionally introduced for
different uses and, subsequently, escaped in
the wild). Given the number of localities in
which these species were found, we may
consider that the following alien plants had
an invasive tendency in Moldavia: Fraxinus
pennsylvanica Marshall, Ulmus pumila L.,
Oenothera glazioviana Micheli, Rhus
typhina L. and Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl.
The other species may be considered
naturalized (most of them), being able to
form populations without human help.
Except Festuca tenuifolia Sibth., which
grew in natural grasslands, all the other
identified species were integrated in
anthropic habitats. Aster lanceolatus
Willd., Rudbeckia triloba L., Rudbeckia hirta
L., Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl. and Rhus
typhina L. also penetrated into semi-natural
habitats: forest edges, river banks and river
meadows. As concerns Festuca tenuifolia
Sibth., a very rare species in the flora of
Romania, included in the Romanian Red
List of Vascular Plants, its presence in
Moldavia, to the South-Eastern limit of its
natural area, is very interesting and
encouraging.
