Cirsium ligulare subsp. albanum Wettst.

Taxonomy: Fam. Compositae// Genus: Cirsium// Species: Cirsium ligulare Boiss.// Subspecies: Cirsium ligulare subsp. albanum Wettst.

Determined according to the botanical keys provided by Werner (1976 in Tutin et al.) to species level and Gajić (1975 in Josifović) to subspecies level.

Species variability: Two subspecies of Cirsium ligulare Boiss. occur in the Osogovo region: Cirsium ligulare subsp. albanum Wettst. and  Cirsium ligulare subsp. armatum (Velen.) Petr. Distinction between subspecies:

–Cirsium ligulare subsp. albanum Wettst: Involucral bracts distinctly widened (lanceolate) below the apical spine; apical spine up to 6 mm long. Widely distributed from the lowland up to 1600 m;

– Cirsium ligulare subsp. armatum (Velen.) Petr.: Involucral bracts gradually narrowed into the apical spine, not distinctly widened in the apical part; the apical spine usually longer as compared to subsp. albanum; found in the higher parts of the Osogovo region;

Lifeform: Biennial; the first year of the lifecycle is vegetative (basal rosette stage). Flowering and fruiting occurs in the second year.

Distribution: Native from the Balkan Peninsula according to the distribution information provided by The Euro+Med PlantBase (source: Greuter, 2006+) and the Plants of the World Online portal (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew).

Habitat: Open habitats – pastures and clearings of forests, from the lowland up to c. 1600 m altitude.

Flowering period: Summer to fall: AUG, SEP, OCT.

Locality: Ponikva. Date: 15.08.2022.

*Cirsium ligulare* subsp. *albanum* – habit. Osogovo – Ponikva, 15.08.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.

Locality: village of Beli region. Date: 20.09.2020.

*Cirsium ligulare* subsp. *albanum*– habit. Osogovo, hilly region near village of Beli, 20.09.2020. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.

References:

 Cirsium ligulare subsp. albanum. Greuter, W. (2006+): Compositae (pro parte majore). – In: Greuter, W. & Raab-Straube, E. von (ed.): Compositae. Euro+Med Plantbase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/7aebd00a-83ca-4535-b94d-2dfbf436f737 [Accessed 26.01.2023].

Cirsium ligulare subsp. albanum Wettst. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77181401-1 [Accessed 26.01.2023].

Gajić, M. 1975. Rod Cirsium Adans. In Josifović (ed.), Flora SR Srbije, VII. Beograd: Srpska Akademija Nauka i Umetnosti, pp. 197–220.

Werner, K. 1976. Cirsium Miller. In Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A. (eds.), Flora Europaea. Volume 4. Plantaginaceae to Compositae (and Rubiaceae). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 232–242.

Last update: 26.01.2023.

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