Achillea nobilis L., flora of Osogovo Mountain, North Macedonia

Taxonomy: Fam. Compositae// Genus: Achillea// Species: Achillea nobilis L.

Determined according to the botanical keys provided by Richardson (1976 in Tutin et al.).

Note: The Osogovo population has white ligules, corresponding to subsp. nobilis. According to Richardson (1976 in Tutin et al.) and The Euro+Med PlantBase (Greuter, 2006+) this taxon does not occur on the Balkan Peninsula. Instead, for this region is reported Achillea nobilis subsp. neilreichii (A. Kern.) Velen. (= Achillea nobilis var. ochroleuca Boiss.), which has pale yellow ligules. According to the Plants of the World Online (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew), A. nobilis subsp. nobilis is listed as native for Northwest Balkan, including the territory of North Macedonia.

Lifeform: Perennial plant. Hemicryptophyte according to the Raunkiær system.

Distribution: A. nobilis is a polymorphic species native from Europe to Caucassus and Siberia according to the distribution information provided by the Plants of the World Online portal (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew). As stated above, there are contradictory statements regarding its variability in the Balkan Peninsula.

Habitat: Hill pastures, clearings of forests.

Flowering period: Summer (JUN, JUL).

Locality: Probishtip, village of Shtalkovica. Date: 05.07.2026.

*Achillea nobilis*– habit in habitat. Probishtip: village of Shtalkovica, 05.07.2026. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.

References:

Achillea nobilis L. Plants of the World Online portal, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:2332-2 [Accessed 29.07.2026].

Achillea nobilis subsp. neilreichii (A.Kern.) Velen. Plants of the World Online portal, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77180994-1 [Accessed 29.07.2026].

Achillea nobilis subsp. nobilis. Plants of the World Online portal, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77179578-1 [Accessed 29.07.2026].

Achillea nobilis. Greuter, W. 2006+: Compositae (pro parte majore). – In: Greuter, W. & Raab-Straube, E. von, Compositae. Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published at https://europlusmed.org/. https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/8d443b03-07a4-4a85-b950-5c3df3e477b4 [Accessed 29.07.2026].

Achillea nobilis subsp. neilreichii. Greuter, W. 2006+: Compositae (pro parte majore). – In: Greuter, W. & Raab-Straube, E. von, Compositae. Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published at https://europlusmed.org/. https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/5356f1fb-9324-4843-903f-58f348b27dff [Accessed 29.07.2026].

Achillea nobilis subsp. nobilis. Greuter, W. 2006+: Compositae (pro parte majore). – In: Greuter, W. & Raab-Straube, E. von, Compositae. Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published at https://europlusmed.org/. https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/8298349a-4fd3-4f54-85ce-d7debb24c579 [Accessed 29.07.2026].

Richardson, I. В. K. 1976. Achillea L. 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. 159–165.

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