New and rare plants from the flora of Moldavia (Romania)

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.