Contribution to the vascular plant flora of the Utrish area, a relic sub-Mediterranean ecosystem of the Russian Black Sea Coast

摘要

The Utrish area, including the projected Utrish Nature Reserve, is situated in the NW Transcaucasus on the Abrau Peninsula between Novorossiysk and Anapa and shelters the only relic ecosystems of arid sub-Mediterranean forests in Russia. Our revisionof the species inventory of the Utrish area revealed a total of 848 vascular plant species, of which 148 (all flowering plants) were newly recorded during 2002-06 and are listed in the present contribution, among them 15 new records for the NW Transcaucasus. Six species were collected before 1960 and have not been recollected since. 50 species reported in previous publications were found to be based on misidentifications and have to be excluded from the checklist of the Utrish area. The significance ofthe Utrish area for biodiversity conservation is illustrated by the fact that 43 of the 514 species listed in the forthcoming new Russian Red Data Book and six species listed in the Red Data Book of Krasnodarsky Kray occur in the Utrish area.