New locality of Centaurea pichleri (Asteraceae) in Bulgaria

Centaurea pichleri Boiss. belongs to subgenus Cyanus of Asteraceae and has a very complex taxonomy. It is distributed in Turkey (mainly in Central Anatolia), Greece, Bulgaria and Lebanon. In the Bulgarian flora the species has a conservation value being protected by the national Biodiversity Act and listed in the Red List of vascular plants in Bulgaria. During field investigations in the spring of 2016 a new locality of the species in Toundzha hilly country (SE Bulgaria) was found. The new population of C. pichleri is in a good state and numbers over then 1000 individuals. From the spatial location of individuals it can be assumed that the reproduction of the species in this locality combined vegetative and seed model. In the new locality, no threats to the species' population were registrated.