Motto: Nature and legend  in the region of Hercules

 

Weather now in Herculane:

 

 

 

        

       

            The Domogled-Cerna Valley National Park has a remarkable floristic diversity, in part due to it’s complex physico-geographic, climatic, and abiotic conditions.  The park flora includes 110 species of vascular plants. The excellent biodiversity of the flora has attracted foreign botanists since the end of the XVIII^th century (Griselini 1780).

The great richness of the flora was discovered by Kitaibell in 1800, when he collected the first holotypes from this area. Rochel deserves all the credit for extending the floristic research network in the Banat region, describing the first discoveries regarding the flora.

On the basis of the research activities which were carried out in this area, several papers/works were published by Rochel (1828), Schuster (1829), Schwarzott (1831), Heuffel (1858), Degen (1901), and Hayek (1912-1916).

            From the total higher plants (1110 species), 66 taxons are endangered or rare, while others are endemic.  This means they are rare or unknown species in other parts of the country.  Examples of this are: Vicia truncatula, Tragopogon balcanicus, Cerastium banaticum, Lamium bithynicum. 

            The karstic relief within the national park is home for numerous endemic species, such as: Linum uninerve, Primula aurica ssp.serratifolia, Hypericum rochelli, and Dianthus giganteus.

            The southern (Domogled Mountain) and middle sections of the national park  are ideal shelters for a large number of attractive and rare Balkan and Mediterranean species – 110 Mediterranean species.  

            Among the Mediterranean species, the geographic and habitat analysis shows the presence of 106 alpine, 45 Carpathian, 75 Dacian, 37 Balkan-Carpathian, 17 Moesian, 14 Anatolian species and also 509 Eurasian, Central European and European species.    

            In the Domogled-Cerna Valley National Park from 30 described associations 9 are strictly endemic: Asplenio-Silenetum petraeae As., Danthonio-Chrysopogonetum grylii, Telekio-Alnetum incanae. Besides the 9 basic cenotaxons, 2 systematically superior ones can be found in this area: Micromerion pulegi, Danthonio-Brachypodion.  These plants increase the region’s scientific value on a biologic, geobotanic, and ecologic level. The alpine meadows (1500-1800 m) are represented by the following species: Juniperus sabina, Juniperus communis nana, Pinus montana and Vaccinium myrtillus. In the composition of the alpine meadows there are a lot of gramineous species, such as Festuca rubra, Festuca suspina, etc.

            The park has some species that are strictly protected, wherever they are found inside the park bounderies: Nigritella nigra, Trollius europaeus, Rhododendron kotschyi, Iris graminea, Crocus moesiacus.  The negative impact against these species is prohibited by law.