MEDICINAL PLANTS OF BULGARIA

Year 2019, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 29 - 39, 29.07.2019

Violeta Dimitrova , Alexander Tashev

https://doi.org/10.38093/cupmap.596100

Cited By: 3

Abstract

Bulgaria is a small country in Southeast Europe, but its
geographic location, varied
relief and climate contribute to great floristic diversity. The medicinal plants are part of it. They
represent 23.2% of the country's flora.

The aim of the present
paper is to present information about the full
composition of the medicinal plants of Bulgarian flora as well as
characteristics of the systematic structure and classification according to
biological type, life form, floristic geolements, period of flowering, and
ecological groups.

The complete list of medicinal plants in Bulgaria was
compiled on the basis of the Medicinal Plants Act, extensive literature
analysis and own researches. The life forms were identified according to
Raunkiaer and for floral elements the classification of Walter was used. The ecological forms were identified
according to Flora of Republic Bulgaria.

As a result of the conducted surveys it was found that
there are 950 medicinal species of vascular plants in the country belonging to
468 genera and 126 families. The richest family containing medicinal plants was
Rosaceae (98 specie). The most medicinal plants existed among perennial herbaceous plants (539 species). Geoelements
with a European component were predominated (408 species). The most plants
bloom from June to August (121 species). The ecological structure of medicinal
plants shows that mesophytes (435 species); heliophytes (545 species) and
thermophylous plants (607 species) were dominated.

The
results of the study include also a detailed information about the national and
international conservation importance of the analyzed species. 65 species were
included in the Red Book of Bulgaria. There were 81 species protected by the
Biodiversity Law. Among the medicinal plants are 16 Balkan and 4 Bulgarian
endemic spesies. The international significance of these plants was defined by the
fact that 33 of species were under protection by different international
conventions.

The
ratio between the biological types, the predominant geoelements and the life
forms shows is  typical  for the temperate continental climate zone
and the flora of our country. The total percentage of protected species (7%) is
not high, which is positive because most species are subject to use by the
local population, the pharmaceutical and perfumery industry.

Keywords

flora

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