CHOROLOGY, ECOLOGY AND PHYTOSOCIOLOGY OF THE ERYTHRONIUM DENS-CANIS L. IN THE FOREST HABITATS FROM OLTENIA, ROMANIA

Abstract

Erythronium dens-canis L. is a monocotyledonous, perennial geophyte species, belonging to the lily family (Liliaceae).  It flowers before trees leafing out, starting in February – March. This Eurasian floristic element is distributed in southern Europe and the Balkans. It extends eastwards to the Caucasus, Siberia and Japan. It is found in Portugal, Spain, France, Romania, Italy (southwards to Tuscany and the Marche), in the southern foothills of the Alpine arc to Burgenland), in south-eastern Hungary and northern Greece. It is found north of the Alps and is found in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It occurs in dry to mesophilous soils, in deciduous forests, but mainly in older and more open forest stands. In southern Oltenia, isolated populations with a small number of individuals can also be found through the plant community built by Robinia pseudoacacia. In southern Oltenia, an infrataxon with white flowers is found, identified for the first time by Alexandru Buia and Marin Păun - Erythronium dens-canis L. subsp. niveum, characteristic of forest habitats of Carpinion betuli. In Europe, E. dens-canis is a native species, in Romania it is considered a vulnerable species. Following phytosociological and ecological studies carried out in Oltenia, especially in the forests of the Jiu basin, a very high variability and a decrease in the number of populations but also in the number of individuals within populations correlated with global climate changes but also with the impact of the anthropogenic result of inadequate forest management were found.