Status of medicinal and aromatic plants in - Inia

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Sixteen other MAP species are partly protected (Cetraria islandica, Ribes nigrum, Ononis
spinosa, Frangula alnus, Ledum palustre, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Viburnum opulus, Polypodium
vulgare, Asarum europaeum, Primula elatior and P. officinalis, Asperula odorata, Centaurium
umbellatum, Gentiana asclepiadea, Helichrysum arenarium, Convallaria maialis, and Hierochloe
australis). Their harvesting is possible in specified amounts and time limits, with the
permission of the Provincial Conservatories of Nature.
Wild-growing MAPs in Poland
There is no detailed documentation so far concerning the distribution of wild-growing MAP
species in Poland. The investigations on natural habitats have been made only for some
species (e.g. Achillea sp., Centaurium umbellatum, Hypericum sp., Euphrasia sp., Adonis vernalis,
Atropa belladonna, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) and for chosen areas. More thorough studies are
currently underway in the Research Institute of Medicinal Plants in Poznań and in the
Department of Vegetable and Medicinal Plants, Warsaw Agricultural University (SGGW)
(Table 1). They concern geographic location, number of sites, population size, morphological,
developmental and chemical traits. For chosen species molecular research is also carried out.
Table 1. MAP species studied in situ
Species
No. of in situ
sites studied
Frequency of population size
(no. of sites x most frequent
population size*)
No. of accessions
transferred to the
Polish Gene Bank
Under strict or partial protection
Adonis vernalis 29 2 x b, 10 x c, 14 x d, 3 x e 26
Archangelica officinalis 1 1 x c 6
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 26 4 x a, 8 x b, 10 x c, 3 x d, 1 x e 12
Arnica montana 15 7 x b, 6 x c, 2 x d 21
Asarum europaeum 21 2 x b, 8 x c, 9 x d, 2 x e 13
Centaurium umbellatum 13 1 x a, 4 x b, 7 x c, 1 x d 15
Colchicum autumnale 23 2 x a, 1 x b, 6 x c, 11 x d, 3 x e 19
Convallaria majalis 26 1 x b, 6 x c, 11 x d, 8 x e 13
Hierochloe australis 3 1 x a, 2 x b 3
Others
Hypericum maculatum 4 3 x b, 1 x c 2
Hypericum perforatum 51 6 x a, 19 x b, 11 x c, 9 x d, 6 x e 20
Thymus pulegioides 2 1 x a, 1 x b
Thymus serpyllum 20 8 x a, 10 x b, 2 x c 9
* Population size:
a = one to several individuals
b = a dozen or so individuals
c = dozens of individuals
d = hundreds of individuals
e = thousands of individuals
Figures 1-4 illustrate the chemical variability within two investigated species (Osińska
and Węglarz 2000; Osińska et al. 2002).
In the last few years more than 100 samples of seeds of investigated accessions were
transferred to the Polish Gene Bank in Radzików.