Spiraea salicifolia

Willowleaf Meadowsweet

Pictures of Willowleaf Meadowsweet (Spiraea salicifolia)

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Common name

Willowleaf Meadowsweet

Scientific name

Spiraea salicifolia L.

Conservation status

PROTECTED species in Bulgaria in it's native range of distribution.

The species is listed in the Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria to the category "Critically Endangered"^[1].

Threats

Urban development; tourism; changes in land use practice; climate aridisation and limited distribution^[2].

Description and identification

Deciduous shrub. Stems 1.5–2 m. Branches smooth, yellowish brown to yellowish grey. Leaves elliptic-oblong, 4–8 cm long, 1–2 cm wide, serrate. Inflorescence 4–12 cm long, terminal, oval-cylindrical, dense. Flowers pink. Fruit a follicle. Seeds 2 mm long, fusiform. Flowering VI–VII, fr. VII–VIII. Insect pollinated. Reproduction by seeds and vegetative means^[3].

Distribution in Bulgaria

Native only near Sarnitsa Town, West Rhodopes. Like ornamental shrub in the whole country^[4].

General distribution

Central and Eaestern Europe, Asia (W Siberia extending to Sakhalin island and Mongolia), Northern Western America^[5].

References

[1] Desislava Sopotlieva. 2015. In: Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria.

[2] Desislava Sopotlieva. 2015. In: Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria.

[3] Desislava Sopotlieva. 2015. In: Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria.

[4] K. Metodiev.

[5] Desislava Sopotlieva. 2015. In: Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Spiraea salicifolia на български

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