THE BULGARIAN FLORA ONLINE

Convolvulus persicus

Persian Bindweed

Pictures of Convolvulus persicus

(Click on the pictures to see them in larger size)

Common name

Persian Bindweed.

Scientific name

Convolvulus persicus L.

Conservation status and threats

The species is PROTECTED in Bulgaria by the Biodiversity Act - it is prohibited to "picking, collecting, cutting, uprooting or any other manner of destruction of specimens in their natural range in the wild", as well as "possession, keeping, movement, transport, export, trade and offering for sale or exchange of specimens taken in the wild". These bans apply to "all stages of life of the plants"¹.

Listed in the Red Data Book of Bulgaria to the category "Critically Endangered"².

Threats

Limited distribution and small size of the populations; tourist pressure in the coastal areas. Unknown negative factors are also possible³.

Description and identification

Convolvulus persicus is a perennial plant with short woody rhizome.

Stems 15–40 cm high, erect, with dense leaves.

Leaf elliptic-ovoid, entire, 3–4.5 cm long, densely white lanate.

Flowers individual, axillary, peduncles shorter than the leaves.

Corolla infundibuliform, 3–4.5 cm, white, with 5 pubescent stripes on the outer side.

Fruit ovoid pod, 10 mm long, with 1–2 black seeds.

Flowering May-July.

Insect pollination.

Reproduction by seeds⁴.

Habitat and Ecology

Coastal sands, usually in places with ground waters⁵.

Distribution in Bulgaria

Black Sea coast (near the Rezovska River mouth, Silistar bay, Kamchia River estuary and Durankulashko Lake); at sea level. After 1995 until 2017, only the one located at Lake Durankulak is known⁶. In 2017, a new locality of the species was discovered on the beach of the Asparuhovo district of Varna by Mr. Zhivko Barzov. The photos posted here are from this site⁷.

General distribution

C Asia and Asia Minor, Caucasus and Black Sea coast⁸.

Map of general distribution⁹:

References

1 Bulgarian Biodiversity Act in english.

2 Antoaneta Petrova. 2015. In: Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria. Volume 1 - Plants & Fungi.

3 Antoaneta Petrova. 2015.

4 Antoaneta Petrova. 2015.

5 Antoaneta Petrova. 2015.

6 Antoaneta Petrova. 2015.

7 K. Metodiev.

9 Convolvulus persicus L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science.

The theory of evolution is a lie!

Abortion is murder!