Limonka Gmelinova ( Limonium gmelinii ) na dálnicích České republiky
| Title in English | Limonium gmelinii on the motorways in the Czech Republic |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Acta rerum naturalium |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Botany |
| Keywords | Plumbaginaceae; alien species; neophyte; halophyte; Czech Republic; Central Europe; phytogeography; motorway |
| Attached files | |
| Description | The paper describes finds of Limonium gmelinii on the D1 and D2 motorways in southern Moravia (south-eastern part of the Czech Republic). Limonium gmelinii is a plant of continental halophytic vegetation, such as saline steppes and marshlands, with a large distribution range extending from south-eastern Europe over southern Ukraine, south-eastern European Russia to southern Siberia in the east and some parts of Central Asia in the south. It is reported here for the first time as a naturalized alien species of the Czech flora. Until now it has been known from four sites, of which one is situated on the D1 motorway near the village of Ostrovačice, west of the city of Brno (first recorded by J. Danihelka in 2009), and three on the D2 motorway southeast of Brno, near the villages of Otmarov, Opatovice and Rakvice (first recorded by P. Kocián in 2013 but already recognizable on Street View photographs of Google Maps from August 2009). The Ostrovačice site, harbouring a single specimen, is the only place where L. gmelinii is found at the road verge under steel beam barriers. At the remaining three sites, in contrast, plants are always found in the central reservation. While the population near Rakvice consists of up to 40 flowering specimens, the populations near Opatovice and Otmarov are less numerous, consisting of about 5 and 2 flowering individuals, respectively. The identification of our specimens (deposited at BRNU and OL) as L. gmelinii seems to be almost certain; however, we refrained from identification to the microspecies level (as L. hungaricum or L. hypanicum , both described by M. V. Klokov) because the infraspecific variation of L. gmelinii is insufficiently known. We assume that the seeds of L. gmelinii were introduced to the Czech motorways via international traffic from Hungary but this assumption is based solely on geographic considerations and cannot be supported by any other arguments. |
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