COST Action E 52 - vTI - Bund.de

Monotropa hypopitis. Most of these species are characterized by a very low abundance, and some
of them can be found only in a few exemplars. In beech forests 25 species of rare plants have been
recorded, most of them are listed in the Red Book of Moldova: Daphne mezereum, Dryopteris
dilatata, D. carthusiana, D. caucasica, D. filix-mas, Polystichum aculeatum, Thelypteris palustris,
Athyrium filix-femina, Cystopteris fragilis, gymnocarpium dryopteris, Cephalanthera damasonium, C.
longifolia, C. rubra, Cypripedium calceolus, Lunaria rediviva, Telekia speciosa, Dentaria quinquefolia,
D. glandulosa, ortilia secunda, Pyrola rotundifolia, Majanthemum bifolium, Platanthera bifolia, P.
chlorantha (Gheideman 1969, Postolache 1995, Postolache, Chirtoaca 2005).
According to the phytocenologist Gheideman (1969), there are seven associations of beech forests
in the country. According to the authors Postolache and Chirtoaca (2005) from the central
European school, the beech forests comprised in the scientific reserve “Plaiul Fagului”/The Beech
Region were classified as association Carpino-Fagetum silvaticae Pauca 1941.
In these communities, the dominant plant species are mesophilic – 4 . %, followed by mesohygrophilic
– 32.6% and xeromesophilic – 1 .5%. The mesoxerophilic and hygrophilic species are presented
in 1% each. The life forms spectra are dominated by hemicryptophyte species (33%) and geophyte
species (30%) followed by phanerophyte species (25%). The floristic elements analysis reveals the
dominance of Eurasian element (Euras. – 35.2%), European element (Eur. – 20.5%) and Central-
European element (Eur. centr. – 11.4%). Relatively well represented are circumpolar elements (Circ.
– 10.2%).
beech dIversITy
Many researchers have studied beech populations, but up to the present there has not been a consensus
regarding the systematics of Moldovian beech. Savulescu et Rayss (1926) indicated two forms
of beech in the beech forests in Basarabia: (a) f. cuneifolia Beck and (b) f. rotundifolia Beck. Borza
(193 ) considered that there are two varieties of beech in Basarabia: (a) Fagus sylvatica var. podolica
spread in the North of Basarabia and (b) Fagus sylvatica var. moesiaca Czecz. spread in the Centre
of Basarabia. Soceava et Lipatova (1952) attributed the beech from Moldova to the var. moesiaca
Czecz.
Istrati (19 5, 1980), after studying the vegetative and generative organs of beech populations,
concluded that according to the leaf form the beech belongs to the Fagus sylvatica species and differs
from F. orientalis Lipsky and F. taurica Popl. A special peculiarity of the beech population is the
asymmetry of the leaf blade.
On the basis of the investigations on the vegetative and reproductive organs of beech populations
Tishkevici (1984) made similar conclusion, that the Moldovian beech has some specific peculiarities
but is the closest to Fagus sylvatica.
Thus the problem of the beech population structure is not resolved. It is possible that one of the
principles is the phylogenetic problem of the beech. Mattfeld (1936) quoted by Borza (193 )
presumed that long ago during the preglacial period the differentiation of beech (Fagus sylvatica)
took place from a tertiary species into two species. After the glacial period the environment became
more favourable for beech (Fagus sylvatica). According to Wulff (1931) Fagus sylvatica developed
after the glacial epoch from Fagus orientalis.
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