Kanitzia 18. - NYME Természettudományi Kar - Nyugat ...

Key words: Krascheninnikovia ceratoides, steppic and dry grasslands, Agropyro cristati-Krascheninnikovietum
ceratoidis ass. nova, Transylvanian Basin, Romania
Introduction
The species Krascheninnikovia ceratoides (L.) Gueldenst. (English name: Vinterfat,
Hungarian name: Pamacslaboda) with a large holarctic distribution mostly in Central
Asia and the Far East is considered as an Eurasian (Eurosiberian) floral element with particular
(mongolian-tibetan-himalayan and anatolo-irano-turanian-pontic) characteristics and
with isolated population-stands in Central Europe and in the Mediterranean area (MEUSEL
et al. 1965, HEGI 1979, SOÓ 1970, ADLER et al. 1994, OPREA 2005). This monoecious halfshrub
species of Chenopodiaceae (Amaranthaceae s. l.) with more frequent syno-nyms used
Eurotia ceratoides (L.) C. A. Mey. and Ceratoides latens Reveal & N. H. Holmgren, is a
cold tolerant and drought-resistant plant, which today presents a wide vege-tation ecology,
growing from the mountainous cold semi-deserts, shrub desert steppe, dry grasslands and
dry steppe habitats, to the semi-alkali and gypsum vegetation types also. In Europe during
the Pleistocene last glacial (Würm/Weichselian) periode the species distribution have been
more extensive, the plant was a common participant of the cold dry climate of the
periglacial landscape (BORISOVA et al. 2007, HEKLAU & RÖSER 2008). So the actually disjunct
area, the isolated population-stands from Europe must be considered as relicts of cold
subdesertic steppes of the periglacial climate of cca 18, 000 years ago (BELL M. & WALKER
1998, ZELIKSON 1998). The cold dry steppe vegetation received probably new steppe elements
from the wooded steppe persisted in favourable microsites of the Carpathian Basin
during the late glacial interstadial and Holocene (SÜMEGI et al. 2002, MAGYARI et al. 2010).
Concerning the taxonomical position and the possible relative taxa of the species,
the common botanical literature recognized to this time cca seven species of the genus
Krascheninnikovia (ILJIN 1936, GRUBOV 1999, ZHU GELIN et al. 2003) distributed mostly
in the large circumpolar area (Central Asia, Europe, North America, North Africa). Recent
phylogenetic studies, using the anatomy and morphology of trichomes and the molecular
analysis of the nuclear ribosomal ITS1-5.8S gene-ITS2 DNA (HEKLAU & RÖSER 2008)
suggest to synonymise all previously described taxa of the genus under the single species
of Krascheninnikovia ceratoides (L.) GUELDENST. [Syn.: Axyris ceratoides L., Eurotia ceratoides
(L.) C. A. Mey., Ceratoides latens Reveal et N. H. Holmgren, Ceratoides papposa
Botsch. et Ikonn., Ceratospermum papposum Pers., Krascheninnikovia latens J. F. Gmel.].
After this conception the widely distributed species of Krascheninnikovia ceratoides (L.)
Gueldenst. can be divided in two subspecies: 1. subsp. ceratoides (Eurasia), and 2. subsp.
lanata Heklau & Röser. (North America). The subspecies ceratoides comprises the following
traditional taxa: K. ceratoides (L.) Gueldenst. distributed in Asia and Europe, K.
arborescens (Losink.) Czerep. in Inner Mongolia and China, K. compacta (Losink.) Grubov
in China, K. eversmanniana (Stschegl. ex Borshch.) Grubov in China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan,
K. pungens (Pazij) Podlech in Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, K. lenensis (Kuminosa)
Tzvelev in west and east Siberia. The subspecies lanata Heklau & Röser (K. lanata (Pursh)
A. Meeuse & A. Smit) is distributed only in western North America (Heklau & Röser 2008).
Even either we use the traditional botanical literature or we accept the new taxonomic pro-
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