Svetlana Bancheva

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences | BAS · Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research

Comparative karyotype analysis of four out of the six species of yellow-flowered Eranthis sect. Eranthis, i.e., E. bulgarica, E. cilicica, E. hyemalis, and E. longistipitata from different areas, has been carried out for the first time. All the studied specimens had somatic chromosome number 2n = 16 with basic chromosome number x = 8. Karyotypes of...

Sisyrinchium is one of the largest genera in Iridaceae, comprising more than 200 species and native to Hawaiian Islands, Temperate and Subtropical America to Falkland Islands. In Bulgaria, the genus was first reported in 1972 with the species S. angustifolium. In 2020, during field work near the Oshtava village, Kresna district (SW Bulgaria), a spe...

Pontechium maculatum (Boraginaceae) is a species of high conservation concern in the Bulgarian flora. It is assigned a national IUCN category ‘Vulnerable’, legally protected according to the national Biological Diversity Act, and listed in Annex II of the Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC). Recent studies in one of the largest populat...

Colchicum arenarium Waldst. & Kit. (Colchicaceae) is reported here as a new species to the Bulgarian flora. The species is of high conservation concern since it is listed in Annex II ‘Animal and plant species of Community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation’ of the EU Habitats Directive and in Appe...

The genus Centaurea s.l. is one of the richest and most taxonomically complex of the Asteraceae family. It includes between 400 and 700 species, of which more than 70 are found in Bulgaria – a territory considered as one of the secondary centers of speciation of the genus. There is a large number of endemics (Bulgarian and Balkan) with endemism rea...

Cyanus Mill. genus, belonging to the Asteraceae family, includes more than 50 taxa, mainly growing in Central and Southern Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, and the Caucasus. Previous investigations on Cyanus taxa have shown that they are rich source of flavonoids and phenolic compounds but, differently from species of genus Centaurea, almost devoi...

The comparative karyological analysis of Adonis vernalis and Adonis volgensis (Ranunculaceae) from 11 populations from Russia (Altai Territory, Novosibirsk Region, Republic of Khakassia) and Bulgaria was carried out. The somatic chromosome number was 2n = 16 in all studied plants. Chromosome sets of A. vernalis from the Altai Territory (near Sibirs...

Lambevska-Hristova A., Bancheva S., Karadelev M. (2022): First record of Dendro-thele nivosa (Basidiomycota) for the Balkans on a new host, Savin juniper.-Czech Mycol. 74(1): 25-32. Dendrothele nivosa is a rare Mediterranean lignicolous species, growing on representatives of the genus Juniperus, hitherto unknown from the Balkans. This wood-decaying...

Pilosella lactucella has been recorded for the first time for the Bulgarian flora. It grows in damp to wet subalpine meadows in the Rila Mts, at ca. 2250 m. A single population of about a thousand specimens has been observed, occupying an area of less than 0.5 ha. The recorded site is the south-easternmost locality of the species in Europe and is r...

Sisyrinchium rosulatum (Iridaceae) is reported here as a new alien species in Bulgarian flora. It is native to North America. The species was found in the area of Oshtava village, Kresna district and near the villages of Belasitsa and Kolarovo, Petrich district. https://icbotmyco.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BOTMYCO-2021-Abstracts-Book.pdf

In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of the endemic plant species, Centaurea vandasii Velen (sect. Phalolepis, Asteraceae), collected in its locus classicus in Rhodope Mts, Bulgaria, was evaluated by GC-MS. The main components of the oil were hexadecanoic acid (18.3%), tetradecanoic acid (13.8%), car...

In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of the Balkan endemic, Centaurea immanuelis-loewii Degen (sect. Acrocentron, Asteraceae), collected in Bulgaria was evaluated by GC-MS. The main components of the oil were β-caryophyllene (23.2%), germacrene D (13.7%) and caryophyllene oxide (12.4%). Furthermore,...

Peniophora proxima Bres. is corticioid fungus belonging to family Peniophoraceae (Basidiomycota). It is easily distinguished by the numerous encrusted cystidia, gloeocystidia and ellipsoid spores. The species is considered a common white rot saprobe restricted only to the Buxus representatives. One of the most popular species of the Old world is Bu...

Alibotush Reserve is located in Slavyanka Mountain, Southwestern Bulgaria, near the state border with Greece. It was established as protected area in 1951 and currently covers 1638.12 ha, which is about 25% of the Bulgarian territory of the mountain. It has the strictest protection regime according to Bulgaria’s national legislation and corresponds...

This paper provides information about the diversity of lignicolous fungi in communities of Juniperus excelsa in the Special area of conservation of NATURA 2000 "Kresna-Ilindentsi" in the Valley of Struma river floristic region, Bulgaria, where its associations is best developed. Six new species for the Bulgarian fungi are reported for the first tim...

A targeted study on the taxonomic diversity of the genus Jurinea Cass. (Asteraceae) in Bulgaria was conducted. The genus Jurinea is quite difficult taxonomically and therefore the data from the literature regarding the number of taxa on the country territory are contradictory so far and range from 7 to 13. As a result of the present study based on...

The article provides information about the new finding for Bulgaria (Vitosha Mountain Range) of an East Asian species Rubus phoenicolasius Maxim., invasive for Europe and North America.

The article provides information on the new finding of Eranthis bulgarica (Stef.) Stef. for Serbia (Vrashka Chuka Peak), previously considered as endemic species for Bulgaria.

Among the Mediterranean ecosystems, shrublands are a characteristic type of vegetation, widespread in different habitats. Owing to different factors such as the physiological, morphological, reproductive, phenological, and regenerative properties, as well as the inter-intraspecific interactions, each shrubby species represents an important element...

Juniperus communis L. formations on heaths or calcareous grassland are included in the Bulgarian Biological Diversity Act (code 5130) and some of them are covered by the European Ecological Network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria. Aim: The purpose of this work is to investigate the status of selected communities with the participation of J.communis in the...

"Torfeno Branishte" is a Reserve located in "Vitosha" Natural Park, Bulgaria. It was established in 1935 to preserve the peat communities in the high parts of Vitosha Mountain in their natural state. The reserve comprises Bulgaria’s most significant complex of high mountain peatlands. Their age is estimated to be over 1500 years old, and the thickn...

Juniperus sabina L. is a rare plant species protected by the Biological Diversity Law in Bulgaria. It is included in the Red List of Bulgarian Vascular plants (Petrova and Vladimirov 2009) and the Red Data Book of Republic of Bulgaria under the “Critically Endangered” category (Peev et al. 2015). The shrub communities with the participation of the...

Centaurea immanuelis-loewii Degen is a perennial herbaceous plant species of the Asteraceae family, a Balkan endemic protected by the Bulgarian Biodiversity Act. The species is found in few places in northern Greece and southwestern Bulgaria and has been identified as important for conservation by the European Community. For this reason, a signific...

Bidens frondosus L. (Asteraceae), a species native to North America, is reported for the first time as an alien species for the flora of the Republic of North Macedonia. It was recorded on the shore of Prespa lake, E-SE of Stenje village. Morphological description, mainly based on the material collected from this locality, and key for identification o...

Three alien species of Opuntia (Cactaceae) have been studied in a locality in Mt Lozenska, Mt Sredna Gora (Western) floristic region in Bulgaria. One of the species-O. humifusa, has already been reported for the area, whereas the other two species-O. engelmannii and O. fragilis are reported here for the first time for the Bulgarian flora. Most like...

The aim of the article is to report the presently known localities of Rosa rugosa (Rosaceae) in the Bulgarian flora, and to discuss its alien and invasive status. The species is native to East Asia and has been introduced in Europe, North America and New Zealand where it became established and, in some parts, invasive. In Bulgaria, the taxon was in...

The aim of the article is to report the presently known localities of Rosa rugosa (Rosaceae) in the Bulgarian flora, and to discuss its alien and invasive status. The species is native to East Asia and has been introduced in Europe, North America and New Zealand where it became established and, in some parts, invasive. In Bulgaria, the taxon was in...

The chemical composition of the essential oils from aerial parts of two taxa of Centaurea belonging to subgenus Acrolophus, Centaurea diffusa Lam. and C. micrantha Hoff. ssp. melanosticta (Lange) Dostàl, respectively collected in Croatia and Spain, were evaluated by GC and GC-MS. The main components of C. diffusa were hexadecanoic acid (31.1%), (Z,...

Verbascum tzar-borisii (Dav. еx Stoj.) Stef.-Gat. and Verbascum davidoffii Murb. are Bulgarian endemics, the first one with two populations of about 1000 individuals, the latter with a unique, severely fragmented population. Verbascum anisophyllum Murb. is a Balkan endemic with two populations in Bulgaria and one in Serbia. All the three species ar...

Verbascum tzar-borisii (Scrophulariaceae) is a highly endangered plant species, with only two small and isolated populations in Bulgaria. Its present distribution range is highly fragmented, and the size of its populations was dramatically reduced during the past years. We used molecular Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers to characterize t...

Photo Atlas of Sparsely Vegetated Ecosystems in Bulgaria aims at presenting in photographs a variety of dune, rock and scree habitats along the Black Sea coast, as well as in the foremountain and mountain territories of Bulgaria. The characteristic plant, fungi and animal species of these habitats are an important element of the biological diversit...

This book is intended to make the reader familiar with the methodology for mapping and assessment of sparsely vegetated land ecosystem condition and services in Bulgaria, as well as to provide information on the obtained results. It comprises rich illustrative material, maps and information about the different habitats relating to the sparsely vege...

New chorological data are presented for 114 species and subspecies from

Verbascum (Mullein) flowers are highly valued as natural remedy for various respiratory diseases. Verbascum anisophyllum Murb. is a Balkan endemic, protected by law and included in the Bulgarian Red Data Book as "Critically Endangered". Thus, a strict conservation policy and a reliable evaluation of its genetic resources are required, considering i...

Aethionema arabicum Andrz. ex DC is extremely rare species of the Bulgarian flora. It is included in the Biological Diversity Act of Bulgaria and in the Red Book of Bulgaria with category Critically Endangered. The species is distributed in Balkan Peninsula (Bulgaria and Turkey), Southwest Asia (Asia Minor, Syria, Northern Iran) and the Caucasus. T...

Verbascum davidoffii Murb. (Scrophulariaceae), one of the rarest plant species in Bulgarian flora, is a local endemic, protected by the National Biodiversity Act, included in the Red List of vascular plants, as well as in the Red Data Book of Bulgaria with conservation status “Critically Endangered”. Its distribution is limited due to anthropogenic...

In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oils from aerial parts of Centaurea grinensis Reuter (K) collected at Žuta Lova, near Senj (Croatia), and aerial parts (L1) and flowers (L2) of C. apiculata Ledeb. collected near Rebro village, near Breznik town, Znepole Region (Bulgaria), both belonging to subgenus Lopholoma (Cass.) D...

First report of Erigeron sumatrensis (Asteraceae) for the flora of the Republic of Macedonia Abstract Vladimirov, V., Matevski, V., Bancheva, S., Delcheva, M., Kostadinovski, M. & Ćušterevska, R.: First report of Erigeron sumatrensis (Asteraceae) for the flora of the Republic of Macedonia. — Fl. Medit. 26: 203-207. 2016. — ISSN: 1120-4052 printed,...

Centaurea raimondoi (Asteraceae) is described as a new species from surroundings of the cities of Mengen and Pazarköy, Turkey: A3 Bolu and is a steno-endemic species. The closest affinities are with C. Eflanensis Kaya & Bancheva from Turkey, Karabük (A4): Eflani town, which occurs in an area of ca. 200 km distance. The new species is assessed as Cr...

Volatile components from florets, leaves and stems and branches of Centaurea aeolica Guss. harvested in Lipari, Sicily, Italy, were analysed by gas phase chomatography (GC) and gas chomatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The main constituents were β-eudesmol, caryophyllene oxide, (E)-12-norcaryophyll-5-en-2-one and hexahydrofarnesylacetone in flow...

Solanum elaeagnifolium (Solanaceae) is reported as a new alien species to the Bulgarian flora. It is native to Central America - Mexico and USA, and has been introduced and naturalized in 4 continents. The species was recorded in Valley of River Struma floristic region in Bulgaria, along the road from Sandanski to Petrich town. Inferring from its c...

The genus Centaurea s. l. (Asteraceae) is one of the richest in endemics in the Bulgarian flora, represented by more than 70 species. One of them, the endemic Centaurea davidovii Urum., occurs in several very fragmented populations in the floristic region of Balkan Mountains. Habitat destruction and low reproductive capacity of this species, mainly...

Conservation of plant diversity is a priority in the environmental policy of Bulgaria. The book presents the main result – a pilot network of small protected sites for the conservation of rare plants using the model of plant micro-reserves – of a project funded by the Life+ Programme of the European Commission. Included are 3 species of bryophytes...

In the present study the chemical compositions of the essential oils from aerial parts of Centaurea davidovii Urum. and C. parilica Stoj. & Stef., both endemic to Bulgaria, were evaluated by GC and GC-MS. The main components of C. davidovii were β-eudesmol (13.9%), spathulenol (13.3%), caryophyllene oxide (10.1%) and (Z)-phytol (5.4%). The main com...

A new species in Centaurea L. (Asteraceae) from Turkey is described and illustrated. Centaurea aytugiana Bancheva, Kaya & Binzet grows in Karabiik Province, North Anatolia, Turkey, and its morphologically allied species are C. stenolepis A. Kern. and C. salicifolia M. Bieb. ex Wild. The chromosome number of C. aytugiana, 2n = 30 + 1B, counted in ro...

Centaurea hymettia (Asteraceae, Centaurea sect. Acrolophus) is described as a new species from Mt Imittos (Hymettus) near Athens, south-central Greece. It is the only steno-endemic of the mountain. Within the section the closest affinities are with C. laureotica, which occurs in an area ca. 30 km to the southeast. Both C. hymettia and C. laureotica...

This study was carried out to determine the main distinctive morphological, cytological and palynological features of three closely related Centaurea L. taxa (Asteraceae) growing in Turkey: C. aytugiana Bancheva, Kaya et Binzet, C. stenolepis Kerner and C. salicifolia M. Bieb. ex Willd. The first species, recently described from Karabük province, T...

Surface flavonoids of Centaurea stenolepis and the local endemics Centaurea davidovii and C. parilica (Asteraceae, sect. Abstract. The species of Asteraceae have been found to be a rich source of externally accumulated flavonoid aglycones. This type of compounds attracts the attention, besides for their importance as chemotaxonomic markers, also fo...

A new species of Centaurea, C. sakarensis, known from a single locality north-east of the village of Lessovo on Mt Sakar, is described and illustrated. It belongs to C. sect. Acrolophus, and its morphologically closest relative is C. cariensis Boiss., a Turkish endemic from western and south-western Anatolia. The new species is currently known from...

Asteraceae Bercht. & J. Presl is one of the biggest and most economically important plant families. The taxonomy and phylogeny of Asteraceae is rather complex and according to the latest and most reliable taxonomic classification of Panero & Funk, based on the analysis of nine chloroplast regions, the family is divided into 12 subfamilies and 35 tr...

This review reports the occurrence of flavonoids in subtribe Centaureinae of Asteraceae family. It extensively covers the literature up to 2010 and collects all available 13C-NMR data.

This review reports the occurrence of flavonoids in subtribe Centaureinae of Asteraceae family. It extensively covers the literature up to 2010 and collects all available (13) C-NMR data.

The volatile constituents of the aerial parts of Centaureaformanekii Halacsy and the aerial parts, capitula and roots of C. orphanidea Heldr. & Sart. ex Boiss. ssp. thessala (Hausskn.) Dostál from Greece were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed. The main components in C. formanekii were hexadecanoic acid (13.6%), delta-elemene (9.1%), and s...

In the current work the data of the isozyme analysis of all the twenty studied Italian Centaurea taxa were compared. They belong to Centaurea parlatoris, C. cineraria, C. tenoreiand C. jacea groups. The following parameters of the genetic variability were considered: the total number of the alleles, the mean number of alleles per locus (A), the mea...

The Centaurea parlatoris group belongs to sect. Dissectae and is one of the most taxonomically critical groups in Sicily. The taxa included in it inhabit dry slopes, pastures and rocky places. Some of them are narrow endemics to Sicily, and others to Italy. The great morphological variability at the intrapopulation level has not permitted the creat...

The essential oils of Centaurea gracilenta Velen. (CG) and C. ovina Pall. ex Willd. ssp. besserana (DC.) Dostál (COB) growing wild in Bulgaria, were studied by GC and GC-MS. Forty-five compounds for CG, representing the 90.1% of the oil, and 68 compounds for COB, representing the 91.9% of the oil, were identified. The oils were rich in sesquiterpen...

New chorological data are presented for 127 species and subspecies from Bosnia and Herzegovina (reports no. 64-72), Bulgaria (48, 52-63, 73, 103-127), Greece (6-37, 49-51, 74-83, 86-102), R Macedonia (46, 47), Montenegro (64) and Turkey-in-Europe (1-5, 38-45, 84, 85). The taxa belong to the following families: Aceraceae (104), Amaranthaceae (87), A...

New chorological data are presented for 127 species and subspecies from Bosnia and Herzegovina (reports no. 64-72), Bulgaria (48, 52-63, 73, 103-127), Greece (6-37, 49-51, 74-83, 86-102), R Macedonia (46, 47), Montenegro (64) and Turkey-in-Europe (1-5, 38-45, 84, 85). The taxa belong to the following families: Aceraceae (104), Amaranthaceae (87), A...

Onopordum is an interesting genus belonging to the tribe Cardueae (Asteraceae family), and the species of this genus are used as food and in the popular medicine of several countries. The present paper reviews all the metabolites present in all the species of this genus, reported up to 2009, and several chemotaxonomic consideration have been made....

The section Cyanus of the genus Centaurea is a very well-defined group on morphological basis and stands as a fine example of many radiations of the eastern groups of the genus in the Mediterranean region. In order to confirm the existence of the two natural groups usually defined within the section, subsect. Cyanus (annual species) and subsect. Pe...

The Centaurea parlatoris group belongs to sect. Dissectae and is one of the most taxonomically critical groups in Sicily. The taxa included in it inhabit dry slopes, pastures and rocky places. Some of them are narrow endemics to Sicily, and others to Italy. The great morphological variability at the intrapopulation level has not permitted the creat...

The paper reports on the volatile components oil from aerial parts of two Asteraceae growing wild in Croatia: Centaurea spinosociliata ssp. cristata (syn. Centaurea cristata Bartl. subsp. rabenhorstiana (Sch.Bip.) Nyman) (CSC) and C. spinosociliata ssp. spinosociliata (CSS). The volatile components were obtained by hydrodistillation from selected p...

This paper reports on the volatile components of oils from the aerial parts (CBA) and roots (CBR) of Centaurea bracteata Scop. and aerial parts of C. pannonica (Heuffel) Simonkai subsp. pannonica (CPA), two Asteraceae growing wild in Croatia. The volatile components, obtained by hydrodistillation, were determined by GC-MS analysis. The yields (w/w)...

The volatile constituents of the aerial parts of Centaurea nigrescens Willd, collected in Romania and of two samples of C. stenolepis A. Kerner from Bulgaria and Romania were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed. The main components of C. stenolepis were caryophyllene oxide (6.9-15.6%), hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (6.5-4.4%), heptacosane (6.0-4...

A new species of Cyanus Miller, C. diospolitanus Bancheva & S. Stoyanov (Asteraceae, Centaureinae), from Tundzha hilly country floristic region in Elhovo municipality, southeastern Bulgaria, is described and illustrated. It belongs to Cyanus sect. Napuliferi (Stefanoff & T. Georgiev) Bancheva & Raimondo, and taxonomically its closest relative is C....

The volatile constituents of the aerial parts of Centaurea cuneifolia Sibth. & Sm. and Centaurea euxina Velen. from Bulgaria were extracted by hydrodistillation and were analyzed. The main components in C. cuneifolia were β-eudesmol (26.5%) and hexadecanoic acid (17.6%). The main components in C. euxina were hexadecanoic acid (20.3%), spathulenol (...

The evaluator(s) of each species is listed in the table with species evaluations. Abstract. The national threat status of 898 species of vascular plants from the Bulgarian flora has been evaluated using Version 3.1 of the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. The resulting Red List of the Bulgarian vascular plants (threat categories) comprises 801...

Centaurea wagenitziana Bancheva & Kit Tan from SE Bulgaria and NW Turkey is described as a species new to science. Its chromosome number of 2n = 30 is a first report. It closely resembles C. amplifolia with which it had been misidentified; the latter is endemic to the Peloponnese in southern Greece and is lectotypified in this paper.