Pagina 54 - Juliana_Book_eng

54
In our country, the plant thrives in rocky and karst hay meadows and is most common on Mt Nanos, but can also be
found on Čaven and Vremščica, in the fore-mountains of Snežnik and in Čičarija. The general distribution extends
from northeastern Italy and along the Dinarides to Albania and thus is of the so-called western Balkan-northern Italian
type. Owing to the expansion of karst woodlands, this is now considered as a highly endangered plant.
Genista sylvestris Scop. – Dalmatian Broom
A fairly high number of new plant species were found and described in
Slovenia, where their birthplace (or typical locality) is situated. One of them is
Genista sylvestris, which was described from Mt Nanos by I. A. Scopoli in
1772 in the second edition of his work Flora carniolica (Carniolan Flora).
This plant can be thorny,as the lateral branches end into soft thorns. The yellow
flowers are arranged in narrow racemes. All parts of the plant have adpressed
silky-hairs, except the calyx and the fruit, which are naked.
This species grows in rocky woodlands and on bushy slopes in the
submediterranean area along the southern margin of Trnovski gozd, in the
mountains of Nanos, Javornik and Snežnik, and in the Kolpa River Valley. The
general distribution extends to the Apennines and along the Dinaric Mts from Slovenia to Albania.
Gentiana lutea L. – Yellow Gentian
“The gentian was found by the Illyrian King Gentius; it thrives everywhere, but
is most exquisite in Illyria.” This is what Pliny wrote about this plant in
antiquity. Its medicinal power was recognized already by the last Illyrian king
Gentius, after whom the whole genus of gentians derives its scientific name.
The gentian's rhizomes are much sought after on the global medicinal plant
market. Specifically, they contain several medicinal bitters that alleviate
stomach problems.
In Slovenia, two subspecies can be found. The Yellow Gentian
(Gentiana lutea subsp. symphyandra) has fused anthers and is generally
distributed in karst meadows, Trnovski gozd and on southern margins of the
Julian Alps. The subspecies with free anthers is called Vardjan's Great Yellow
Gentian (Gentiana lutea subsp. vardjanii) and was described from Spodnja Komna. It thrives in grasslands, pastures
and on screes in the Julian Alps, rarely in the Karavanke Mts (Vrtača, Begunjščica) and in the Kamniško-Savinjske
Alps (below Mt Grintovec).
Geranium argenteum L. – Silvery Crane's Bill
Julius Kugy, who loved to visit Juliana in his old age, wrote: “My prettiest
targets lie in Juliana’s upper part. The gorgeous flowerbed with the Silver
Cranesbill, with a gentle harmony of colours of its silvery and finely incised
leaves and the attractive, open, delicately violet flowers. That’s where our
memories are waiting for hundreds of hours full of peace and tranquillity, spent
on the peaks of warm, pleasantly sunlit foremountains and viewpoints of the
Julian Alps. For this silvery hairy “stork’s beak” loves such elevated seats with
views open in all possible directions, as it clearly feels well there.”
The Silver Cranesbill is a southern Alpine and northern Apennine species. In
Slovenia we find it in the mountains of Bohinj and Krn, where it can cover
upland grasslands in silver-grey carpets. One may find it on rubble and in rock crevices as well.
Geranium macrorrhizum L. – Rock Crane's-bill
The generic name of this species derives from ancient Greek (geranos = crane).
Its long-billed fruits are reminiscent of cranes’ beaks. The Slovenian name, on
the other hand, tells us that these plants are medicinal and that they were
formerly used in folk medicine. Owing to the substances they contain, they
were occasionally used as means for staunching blood.
The bigroot geranium has a strong underground rhizome, after which takes its
name. The leaves are only basal and long-stalked. The stalks are overgrown
with sessile glands and long glandular and non-glandular hairs. The stem and
the flower peduncles are covered by numerous sessile glands. The petals are
scarlet-coloured. The flower peduncles are upright after flowering.