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As a result of floristic investigations in the Valamara mountain range carried out between 2007 and 2016, 567 taxa belonging to 305 genera and 89 plant families were recorded, of which 307 taxa are reported as new for the area. A phytogeographical analysis showed that the Eurasian chorological type was the most dominant comprising 126 taxa (22.2% of the flora), the second was Balkan with 104 taxa (18.3%). There are 9 endemic and subendemic taxa. Epilobium alsinifolium, Dichoropetalum stridii and Taraxacum pindicum are new for the Albanian flora. Life-form analysis indicates that 56.8% of the species are hemicryptophytes; this high percentage points to the Mediterranean nature of the investigated area. A total of 119 species (20.9 %) are listed as deserving conservation status. Of these, 49 are in the Albanian Red List, 76 species in the IUCN Red List, two in the Habitats Directive, one included in Annex I of the Bern Convention and seven species in Appendix II of CITES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first synthesis of the alien flora of Albania is presented here. In order to be able to compare with other published studies, the categories of the aliens are described using widely accepted terms. However, additional terms are also introduced in the text. Altogether, 196 alien species occur outside cultivation, including 81 naturalised and 16 partly naturalised weeds, 11 remnants of the former cultivation, nine old and 38 new casuals, 41 presumably extinct aliens and no invasives. Some authors regarded 25 native species incorrectly as aliens and nine alien species were erroneously documented as members of the Albanian flora. The changes of the alien flora of Albania differ considerably from that of most European countries, and the actual proportion of aliens in the Albanian flora is the lowest in Europe. The low number of aliens, the lack of invasives and the relatively low frequency of aliens in Albania are the consequences of the long-term seclusion of the country during the 20th century, and the low level of economic development, the extended land use and also the fact that aliens have been present only for quite a short time in the flora. All recent social and economic changes facilitate the establishment and spread of aliens in the country, especially in the lowlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, species were selected from the new Red List of the vascular flora of Hungary which can be regarded as a weed. For each species, current conservation status and the most important traits were assessed. Altogether 149 weed species were found to be at risk according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categories: 11 species are extinct, 11 are critically endangered, 27 are endangered, 26 are vulnerable, 62 are near threatened and 12 are data deficient. These species belong to 37 plant families, from which the most important are Caryophyllaceae, Brassicaceae, Asteraceae, Scrophulariaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae and Fabaceae. The most significant chorological elements are Mediterranean (28%) and Eurasian (27%); endemic (Pannonian) taxa constitute only 5.4%. Over 90% of these species are of native or archaeophyte origin, according to their residence time. Considering the main habitat types, 46% of the species are originated from dry habitats, 23% from arable lands, 17.5% from wet habitats and 13.5% from ruderal habitats. In the life form spectra, a pronounced dominance of therophytes (81%) is represented. The factor that currently offers the greatest conflict to the conservation of endangered weed species in Hungary are side effects of strong eradication campaigns against the invasive Ambrosia artemisiifolia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The systematic urban floristic research of Budapest was started in 2018 by the authors with detailed methodology. One scope of the research was to gain knowledge on the plant taxa appearing in Budapest and to compile the inventory of the urban flora of Budapest., New Information: We have provided the inventory of the urban flora of Budapest, which includes distribution data for all 973 taxa found in Budapest between May 2018 and May 2023. We also provided new detailed occurrence data for 49 species in Budapest. Seven of them are new to the adventive flora of Hungary ( Campanulaportenschlagiana Roem. & Schult., Clinopodiumnepeta (L.) Kuntze, Chasmanthiumlatifolium (Michx.) H.O.Yates, Cyrtomiumfortunei J.Sm., Linariamaroccana Hook.f., Talinumpaniculatum (Jacq.) Gaertn.), three were rediscovered in Hungary ( Glebioniscoronaria (L.) Cass. ex Spach, Lagenariasiceraria (Molina) Standl., Sisymbriumirio L.) and 18 were recorded for the first time in Budapest. We also provided data for two data-poor ( Artemisiascoparia Waldst. & Kit., Polygonumrurivagum Jord. ex Boreau) species and we documented the major expansion of six species., (Attila Rigó, Ákos Malatinszky, Zoltán Barina.)

Herbarium collections shape our understanding of Earth's flora and are crucial for addressing global change issues. Their formation, however, is not free from sociopolitical issues of immediate relevance. Despite increasing efforts addressing issues of representation and colonialism in natural history collections, herbaria have received comparatively less attention. While it has been noted that the majority of plant specimens are housed in the Global North, the extent and magnitude of this disparity have not been quantified. Here we examine the colonial legacy of botanical collections, analysing 85,621,930 specimen records and assessing survey responses from 92 herbarium collections across 39 countries. We find an inverse relationship between where plant diversity exists in nature and where it is housed in herbaria. Such disparities persist across physical and digital realms despite overt colonialism ending over half a century ago. We emphasize the need for acknowledging the colonial history of herbarium collections and implementing a more equitable global paradigm for their collection, curation and use., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Trees play a key role in the structure and function of many ecosystems worldwide. In the Mediterranean Basin, forests cover approximately 22% of the total land area hosting a large number of endemics (46 species). Despite its particularities and vulnerability, the biodiversity of Mediterranean trees is not well known at the taxonomic, spatial, functional, and genetic levels required for conservation applications. The WOODIV database fills this gap by providing reliable occurrences, four functional traits (plant height, seed mass, wood density, and specific leaf area), and sequences from three DNA-regions (rbcL, matK, and trnH-psbA), together with modelled occurrences and a phylogeny for all 210 Euro-Mediterranean tree species. We compiled, homogenized, and verified occurrence data from sparse datasets and collated them on an INSPIRE-compliant 10 × 10 km grid. We also gathered functional trait and genetic data, filling existing gaps where possible. The WOODIV database can benefit macroecological studies in the fields of conservation, biogeography, and community ecology.

Seventeen European endemic plant species were considered extinct, but improved taxonomic and distribution knowledge as well as ex situ collecting activities brought them out of the extinct status. These species have now been reported into a conservation framework that may promote legal protection and in situ and ex situ conservation.

The vast majority of floristical and coenological studies focus on the natural vegetation and its remnants in urban environments; however, there is an increasing interest in the systematic exploration of built environments. This survey of the inhabited areas of Budapest launched in 2018 applied a new and detailed methodology. The territorial units of the survey were street sections, where the presence of vascular plants was recorded in ecologically different habitats separately. We laid down the foundations to establish new habitat categories for the habitat classification and mapping of urban ecosystems using a different approach than the Hungarian habitat classification system (ÁNÉR). The method enables us to study the flora of urban ecosystems in detail. We established 18 urban habitat categories, surveyed more than 27,000 survey units and registered 647 spontaneously growing plant species in Budapest. Our survey evinced the spontaneous occurrence of 193 alien species in Budapest, 81 of them are data deficient, while 10 of them are new introductions in Hungary. 53.9% of the aliens are cultivated frequently in Hungary., (© 2020. The Author(s).)

A novel segetane (1: ) and jatrophane diterpene (2: ), together with five known diterpenoids possessing segetane (3: ), jatrophane (4: ), and ingenane skeletons (5 - 7: ), were isolated from the methanol extract of Euphorbia taurinensis All. The structure elucidation of the compounds was performed by means of extensive spectroscopic analysis, including HRESIMS and 1D ( 1 H, J -modulated spin-echo carbon experiment) and 2D (HSQC, HMBC, COSY, NOESY) NMR experiments. The multidrug resistance reversing and cytotoxic effects of five diterpenes (1, 4:  - 7: ) were studied on the L5178 mouse lymphoma cell line using rhodamine 123 accumulation and the MTT cell viability assay. Segetane and jatrophane diterpenes had no cytotoxic activity on the sensitive parent and multidrug resistance cells, while ingenane diterpenes showed a cytotoxic effect on both cell lines. Ingenanes 6: and 7: and segetane 1: demonstrated the remarkable multidrug resistance modulating effect at 20 µM., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)