New record of Eranthis bulgarica (Stef.) Stef. (Ranunculaceae) for the flora of Serbia.pdf The genus Eranthis L. (Ranunculaceae) includes 8-10 species distributed in Southern Europe and Temperate Asia (Lee et al., 2012; Park et al., 2019). Most species have narrow distributions and only one European species, E. hyemalis (L.) Salisb. has been widely cultivated in gardens and became naturalised in Britain (Boens, 2014) and North America (Parfitt, 1997). The type section Eranthis is characterised by plants with tubers, yellow sepals and emarginate or slightly bilobate upper petal margins without swellings (nectaries) (Tamura, 1995). Section Eranthis in Europe includes E. hyemalis, E. bulgarica (Stef.) Stef., in Southwest and West Asia - E. cilicica Schott et Kotschy, E. longistipitata Regel, and E. iranica Ruksans et Zetterl. (Erst et al., 2020). During the fieldwork in Bulgaria and Serbia in the summer of 2019 and 2020, a new location of E. bulgarica was revealed. This species was previously known from one location in Bulgaria. Eranthis bulgarica is a protected species under the national Biodiversity Act (Critically Endangered [B1ab(iii,v)+2ab(iii,v)]. BDA. Balkan endemic). The known locality is included in the Vrashka Chuka Protected Area (Vladimirov, 2015). V. Budak (1999) indicated that North-East Serbian specimens look like E. hyemalis var. bulgarica Stef. V. Vladimirov (2015) indicates that the species is distributed in Serbia, but the locations of this species in Serbia are not indicated. According to latest data, E. hyemalis has been registered at eight locations in Serbia (Sombor-Backi Monostor, Kozara forest; Backa Palanka, Bagremara forest; Ruma, Donji Tovarnik, Losinci forest; Valjevo; Knjazevac, 33 Novi Han; Vrska Cuka; Zajecar, Koprivnica; Nis, Koritnik, Banjsko Brdo) (Budak, 1999), only a few findings have been confirmed (Petrovic, Lakusic, 2017). Vrashka Chuka is the most northwestern peak of 692 m (2,270 ft) alt. in the Stara Planina chain on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia, situated in the geographical subregion Predbalkan (Kopralev et al., 2002). There is a border checkpoint between Bulgaria and Serbia in the pass. The closest towns to the peak are Kula toward the northeast and Zajecar toward the northwest. Plants from the Bulgarian and Serbian locations of this mountain form the one population. We did not see the herbarium specimens indicated by I. Petrovic and D. Lakusic (2017), but probably all specimens from the locations in the east of Serbia belong to E. bulgarica. Eranthis bulgarica is characterized by erect, glabrous and simple stems 7-13 cm high; involucral leaves up to 2 cm long, arranged in a whorl close to the solitary terminal flower, deeply palmate divided on linear lobes; yellow flowers, with numerous stamens and 4-6 free carpels; follicles in number 4-6 with curved stylodium (Vladimirov, 2015). This species is distinguished from E. hyemalis by dissected to the base involucral leaves, narrowly lanceolate (not widely-linear) leaf blade segments, which are shorter than sepals during flowering time, golden yellow sepals and orange-yellow petals (rather than pale-yellow) (Stefanoff, 1941, 1943). Fig. 1. Flower of Eranthis bulgarica (A) and its habitat in Vrashka Chuka Peak (B). Photos by A. Tashev The species grows on karst and lithosol, well-developed humus-calcimorphic soil, in the xerothermal belt of oak forests, at about 680-690 m above sea level. It grows on stony habitats in sparse shrubs and trees of Syringa vulgaris L., Carpinus orientalis Mill., Acer monspessulanum L., Quercus cerris L., Fraxinus ornus L., etc. New record: Serbia, Babin Nos Mountain, Vrashka Chuka Peak, N 43°50'01.6", E 22022'15.4", 645 m alt., 12.03.2020. A. Tashev, S. Bancheva (SOM 177029).

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