Pagina 60 - Juliana_Book_eng

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The species grows in rocky pastures, on rocks and scree in the montane belt. In
the Alpine district it can be found in the Julian Alps (Bohinj, Breginjski kot,
the Tolminka valley), but is more common in the submediterranen region
(southern slopes of Trnovski gozd). The general distribution extends to the
central and southern European mountains.
In his first guide trough the Juliana Botanical Garden from 1963, Ciril Jeglič
wrote the following about this species:
“This plant is especially welcome in the garden, considering that its pale violet
inflorescences above the silvery leaves keep developing from the summer far
into the autumn.”
Medicago pironae Vis. – Pirona's Medick
This is a perennial plant with bright yellow flowers, which differs from other
species of the genus in the fact that the legumes have short, flattened prickles
and are thickly overgrown by glandular hairs.
It thrives on rocky slopes and on rubble in the Soča Valley (Sabotin, Sveta
gora, Modrej, Plave),and can also be found in the neighbouring Friuli region of
Italy.
The species is dedicated to the Italian botanist G. J. Pirona, who lived in the
19th century and was the author of the first book on Friulian plants. He
discovered the new species in Mt Matajur, and eventually the plant was named
after him.
This species is an older (conservative) endemic plant of the southern Carnian
and Julian Pre-Alps, while the central Posočje area is the eastern limit of its range.
Molopospermum peloponnesiacum (L.) W.D.J. Koch subsp. bauhinii I.
Ullmann – Striped Hemlock
“Look at that tall and slender apparition in an artful attire, surrounded by
drooping veils, just like an eminent ballerina… She came from the green
carpets of Matajur, this classical site of plants in the Upper Primorsko. Who
created the drawing for this leaf? Who cut it with such care and artistic skill?
These leaves are a truly wonderful work of art! Everything about her is royal.
Indeed, I see in her the queen of Apiaceae!” So wrote Julius Kugy.
In Slovenia, this species can be found in the Julian Alps and along the northern
margin of the submediterranean region.
Narcissus radiiflorus Salisb. – Mountain Narcissus
The “keyhole” or “mountain narcissus” is a plant that has no less than 120
names in the Slovenian ethnic territory, collected by the Slovenian ethnologist
Milko Matičetov. An ancient legend says that Mary once strolled through
blossoming meadows. All flowers were greeting her, humbly bending their
heads, except the narcissus that arrogantly remained upright. Mary decided to
punish them by striking each flower with her stick. This was the reason why
the keyholes’ stems are still hooked today.
In Slovenia, the narcissus is abundant in the meadows above Jesenice, but can
also be found in floodplain meadows along the Mura River, in montane
grasslands of the Kočevje region and in hay meadows across the Karst region
and Istria. Why do narcissus occur here and there in such great numbers? To a
certain extent, this is the result of man’s management of grasslands. In the past, the steep grasslands on the slopes of
Golica were scythed almost to the top of the mountain, thus preventing meadows getting overgrown and turning into
forests. After World War II, keyholes still thrived so abundantly that their whiteness could be noticed at a distance “of
two hours’ walk”. The abandonment of scything was the reason why these flowers are no longer as plentiful as they
used to be. The grasslands are getting overgrown, while in the lower parts meadows are being transformed into
pastures for the needs of intensive livestock farming. The surfaces are levelled by bulldozers, well fertilized and fenced
with electric wire. In such meadows, only grass and dandelions can grow.