New plants on the block: a comparison of the neophyte flora in Banja Luka, Mostar and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

This article offers a comparison of the neophyte flora in three cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Banja Luka, Mostar and Sarajevo, in order to assess the role of neophytes in the flora of cities located in different phytoclimatic regions. The results indicate low similarity of the neophyte flora in the investigated cities. A total of 123 neophytes have been recorded, only 27 (21.95%) of which are common for all three cities. The invasive component includes 58 taxa (47.15%), 20 (34.48%) of which are common for all three cities. The highest percentage of invasive plants was recorded in Banja Luka (58% of the neophyte flora of the city), followed by Mostar (55.55%) and Sarajevo (53.12%). A total of 43 families have been recorded, with Compositae being the richest (31 taxa), followed by Poaceae (9), Amaranthaceae and Solanaceae (7 taxa each). A comparison of the biological spectrum reveals that therophytes are represented best in all three cities: Banja Luka (27 taxa - 54%), Mostar (50 taxa - 55%), and Sarajevo (34 taxa, -53.12%). A study of the geographical origin shows dominance of the taxa originating from the Americas in all three cities (34 taxa - 68% in Banja Luka; 62 taxa - 68.89% in Mostar and 39 taxa - 60.94% in Sarajevo). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]