The vascular flora of damp meadows and mires in W Rhodopi (NE Greece)

Abstract

Charalampidou, C., Eleftheriadou, E. & Theodoropoulos, K.: The vascular flora of damp meadows and mires in W Rhodopi (NE Greece). — Fl. Medit. 32: 79-98. 2022. — ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. The plant diversity of damp meadows and mires occurring in the Greek part of Rhodopi Mountain Range, at an elevation of above 1000 m, was investigated. The vascular flora of the investigated area consists of 340 taxa, which belong to 175 genera and 58 families. Seven taxa of vascular plants were recorded for the first time for the floristic region of North-East Greece. The most species-rich families are Poaceae , Rosaceae , Asteraceae , Cyperaceae , Lamiaceae , Fabaceae and Juncaceae , whereas 20 families contribute with only one taxon. The most species-rich genera are Carex , Juncus and Ranunculus , and 103 genera have only one taxon. Most of them are hemicryptophytes (203 taxa), followed by therophytes (51 taxa), geophytes (45 taxa), phanerophytes (27 taxa) and chamaephytes (14 taxa). The high percentage of hemicryptophytes reflects the continental character of the flora. The majority of the taxa (228 taxa) are Widespread (76 taxa Europaean-SW Asian, 53 taxa Euro-Siberian, 37 taxa European etc.), followed by the Mediterranean unit with 57 taxa (24 taxa Mediterranean, 22 taxa Mediterranean-European, etc.) and the Balkan unit with 53 taxa (31 taxa Balkan, 17 taxa Balkan-Anatolian, etc.).