Polish flora

Poland

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Turkey

Croatia-Zagreb
Name & Conservation status
English name: Globe flower
Latin name: Trollius europaeus
In the language of the given country: PEŁNIK EUROPEJSKI
Conservation status: NT - Near Threatened
Taxonomy
Regnum: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Classis: Magnoliopsida
Ordo: Ranunculales
Familia: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Trollius
Description Trollius europaeus grows up to 60 cm high with a bright yellow, globe-shaped flower up to 3 cm across. The colourful petaloid sepals hide 5–15 inconspicuous true petals with nectaries at their base and, typically for the family, a large number of stamens. Each flower produces a large number of wrinkled follicles. The leaves are deeply divided into 3–5 toothed lobes. It grows in damp ground in shady areas, woodland and scrub, flowering between June and August. It is slightly poisonous and is purgative and rubefacient when used fresh.

 
Name & Conservation status
English name: Orange lily
Latin name: Lilium bulbiferum
In the language of the given country: Lilia bulwkowata
Conservation status: CR - Critically Endangered
Taxonomy
Regnum: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Classis: Monocots
Ordo: Liliales
Familia: Liliaceae
Genus: Lilium
Description This species is common in the mountains of central and southern Europe from the Pyrenees up to the northern Balkans. These plants grow in mountain meadows and rocks. They prefer calcareous soils in warm, sunny places, but also grows on slightly acid soils. They can be found at an altitude of 500–1,900 metres (1,600–6,200 ft) above sea level.

 
Name & Conservation status
English name: Broad-leaved marsh orchid
Latin name: Dactylorhiza majalis
In the language of the given country: Storczyk szerokolistny
Conservation status: EN - Endangered 

Taxonomy
Regnum: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Classis: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales
Familia: Orchidaceae
Genus: Dactylorhiza
Description The western marsh orchid grows mainly in nitrogen-poor marsh areas that consist of several plant communities. More rarely, it is found in fens. The range extends in Europe from the Pyrenees to the Baltic and to the Don, possible even to the Volga. The western marsh orchid is not found south of the Alps and is rare in southern Scandinavia. Although the western marsh orchid is commonly found in some regions, it is nevertheless protected as an orchid. As with many marsh plants, the numbers of this species have been dwindling for quite some time. The main causes are the entry of nitrogen via fertilizer, drying out of the habitat, and intensive conversion to pasture. The western marsh orchid does not react so sensitively to changes in its habitat as for example the early marsh orchid. It is usually the last of the native orchids to disappear. This tolerance makes it a still relatively common species.

 

Name & Conservation status
English name: Leoperd's bane
Latin name: Arnica montana
In the language of the given country: Arnika górska
Conservation status: CR - Critically Endangered
Taxonomy
Regnum: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Classis: Asterids
Ordo: Asterales
Familia: Asteraceae
Genus: Arnica
Description Arnica montana is endemic to Europe, from southern Iberia to southern Scandinavia and the Carpathians. It is absent from the British Isles and the Italian and Balkan Peninsulas. A. montana grows in nutrient-poor siliceous. Arnica montana is sometimes grown in herb gardens and has long been used medicinally. It contains the toxin helenalin, which can be poisonous if large amounts of the plant are eaten. It produces severe gastroenteritis and internal bleeding of the digestive tract if enough material is ingested. Contact with the plant can also cause skin irritation. The roots contain derivatives of thymol, which are used as fungicides and preservatives and may have some anti-inflammatory effect. When used topically in a gel at 50% concentration, Arnica montana was found to have the same effect when compared to a 5% ibuprofen gel for treating the symptoms of hand osteoarthritis.

A scientific study found that the application of topical arnica had no better effect than a placebo in the treatment of laser-induced bruising.

 

Name & Conservation status
English name: Autumn crocus
Latin name: Colchicum autumnale
In the language of the given country: Zimowit jesienny
Conservation status: VU - Vulnerable
Taxonomy
Regnum: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Classis: Monocots
Ordo: Liliales
Familia: Colchicaceae
Genus: Colchicum
Description The bulb-like corms of Colchicum autumnale contain colchicine, a useful drug with a narrow therapeutic index. Colchicine is approved by the US FDA for the treatment of gout and familial Mediterranean fever. Colchicine is also used in plant breeding to produce polyploid strains. A synthetic chemical compound, called ICT2588, which is similar to one from the autumn crocus, is in the early stages of drug development for the treatment of some types of cancer. In experimental testing it was successfully used to treat breast, bowel, lung and prostate cancers in mice when used in combination with the drug doxorubicin.

Colchicum plants have been mistaken by foragers for ramsons, which they vaguely resemble, but are deadly poisonous due to their colchicine content. The symptoms of colchicine poisoning resemble those of arsenic, and no antidote is known.

 

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