This paper is a botanical (morphological and anatomical) and chorological study of the endemic species Paeonia officinalis subsp. banatica (Rochel) Soó (P. banatica Rochel) – the Banat peony. Knowing the distribution areas of this species is important in the conservation and monitoring of the existing populations. It is well known that, without careful monitoring, numerous protected species are threatened or even extinct in Romania’s flora; this could be prevented through both proper management measures and thorough monitoring of the protected areas. The studied material was collected from the Nature Reserve at Baziaş, a reserve included in the Porţile de Fier National Park (Caraş-Severin County). The population present here is well represented and sampling per sections does not threaten the species. We have carried out several morphological and anatomical studies. Anatomic sections were studied microscopically and photographed with a video camera of a MOTIC M 230 microscope. The population in the area analysed is uneven morphologically – this is why we tried to observe certain features or differences – and anatomically – to clarify the species taxonomy. There are controversies related to the taxonomy of the Banat peony in the area: according to certain authors, there are not one, but two different species of the genus Paeonia. The distribution area of the species is rather small in Romania, Hungary and Serbia: this is why we have chosen this species to be studied in detail. Though in the Banat area there is also the species Paeonia mascula, in the Simion Peak area of the Nera Gorges, we did not study both species because the population in the Ciclova-Ilidia Reserve is critically threatened: the picking of a single sample is prohibited because there are only 5-7 plants that do not bloom every year.

Paeonia officinalis subsp. banatica, Nature Reserve, biology, chorology, endemic species

Presentation: oral