In most European countries, but also in Romania, taxonomic research over some smaller or larger groups of vascular plants is taking place continuously over a century and a half. In the last decades of the 20 th century, and especially now at the beginning of the 21st century, the taxonomic criteria have diversified. However, for some polymorphic plants genus, with a wide spreading, the identification and recognition of components species is far for being regarded as concluded. One of these genus is Alchemilla (fam. Rosaceae), with about 1000 species spread across the globe. It can be said that the taxonomy of Alchemilla species is difficult because: apparently have the same habit; the organ which produces the most diagnems, the leaf, having generally the same form; the flower presents a simplified construction and its components have a low variability; the fruit does not offer qualitative diagnems. Monographic research on the Alchemilla genus are motivated by its complexity, that have not been specific research on this genre in the Romanian Carpathians in the light of current knowledge and that species which are very common in our geobotanical research and are generally difficult to recognize in the field. Often in herbarium there are mistakes in the species identifications. The aims of the study of the Southern Carpathians Alchemilla species were found in all aspects of their knowledge, by connecting to complex research projects in this field throughout Europe. In the delimitation and description of the species of these polymorph and complex genre, in addition to morphological criteria should be used and other criteria such as ecological, phytogeographic, genetical etc. In order to make a research of the teritory, many reshuffles have been made, from May to October. Parâng, Căpăţânii, Lotru, Latoriţei, Vâlcan and Ciucaş Mountains have been investigated. There has been established the presence of the following species: Alchemilla acutiloba, A. connivens, A. crinita, A. flabellata, A. glabra, A. glaucescens, A. incisa, A. micans, A. mollis, A. monticola, A. straminea, A. xanthochlora. In the studied phytocoenoses in Parâng Mountains, Căpăţânii and Vâlcan, we noticed that the species grows from the altitude of 1,600 m to almost 2,000 m, where it cohabitates especially with species from the boreal and subalpine floors and less with species from the alpine floor.

Alchemilla flabellata; Romania

Presentation: oral