Historic and recent occurrences of Kievan nettle (Urtica kioviensis Rogow.) in Hungary

Abstract

This paper presents occurrence data of Urtica kioviensis Rogow. in Hungary from the 20th century till today, based on a survey of six Hungarian public herbaria and the literature. Altogether 84 herbarium sheets from 9 counties, 83 literature records mentioned from 12 counties, and 57 flora mapping data were encountered. Based on these, we updated the distribution map of the species in Hungary. We found that the typical habitats of U. kioviensis in Hungary include marginal zones of bog forests, reeds, and old small watercourses. We report two newly discovered locations of the species in the Hanság area. Near Fehértó, in a peat-forming reed bordering a lake, approximately 150 plants were found, while in the vicinity of Dör, in a former open pit sand mine, approximately 300 plants were observed. The habitat at Dör is secondary, the current vegetation must be the result of progressive succession processes that started after the abandonment of sand mining. The integrity of Hungarian habitats has been threatened in recent decades by increasingly frequent climatic anomalies (mainly water shortages due to the lack of precipitation for long periods) and anthropogenic factors (fragmentation of biotopes, organic/inorganic substances washing into groundwater), which may cause a decrease in the number of plants. As a significant part of the distribution area of the species is located in Hungary, the protection of its populations and habitats is also of key importance.