New Ex Situ Collection of Rare and Threatened Medicinal Plants in the Pirin Mts. (Bulgaria)

Abstract

This study reports the results of our efforts to create a stable and vigorous collection of rare and endemic plants from the Pirin Mountains on a plot located at Dobrinishte village (the North-East foothills of the Pirin) from 2005 to 2008. Some threatened plants from the Pirin Mountains well known for their medicinal properties were included in the ex situ collection. Here we share our observations on the pre-adaptation of adult plants and our experience in growing seedlings. Adult plants were transplanted from their native populations in the summer of 2005 and they developed amazingly well. A total of 88.2% of the transplants survived until the next season and 31.7% of the survivals bloomed the next year. Many of these set seed for the following seasons. Good germination and early stage development was observed for Leontopodium alpinum but later many of the young seedlings did not survive. Linum capitatum demonstrated poor germination without treatment other than stratification. Good germination occurred in Sideritis scardica, Stachys recta, after treatment with gibberellic acid. Germination of Hypericum linarioides was poor. In total 462 seedlings of the studied plant species were prepared for planting in the garden. The seedlings at the 2-6 true leaf stage, were transported to Dobrinishte village and planted singly into the flower beds with fine marble gravel top-dressing (up to 1 cm size). Most transplanted seedling survived the first summer. Although the number of survivals gradually decreased each following year and the critical points were mainly winters seed grown plants bloomed and set seed next seasons. Thus seed was collected for the next year from the flower beds, rather than from nature.