L. Lőkös szerk.: Studia Botanica Hungarica 25. 1994 (Budapest, 1994)

Penksza, Károly: Floristical studies in the Yerevan basin, Armenia

turbations influence the view of vegetation. Ï could visit River Hrazdan only once and for that reason rather small number of species were collected there. I got a deeper insight into the vegetation of the environs of the Campus at the north-eastern part of the town, where most of the area were occupied by weeds (Amaranthus blitoides, Bromus tectorum, Erigeron canadensis, etc.). At the same time, the occurrence of some endemic species (Helichrysum armenium, Marrubium parviflorum) indicated the features of the original flora. Such species were the Limonium meyeri occurring at the edge of wet plots and the Glycyrrhiza glandulifera present in large number. Valley of River Azat The Garni nature conservation area, which is the paradise of basalt forms, is situated NE of Yerevan. It is characterized by remnants of vents, uplands and canyons, several hundred metres deep. When I started the work by the investigation of the upland at the beginning of August, the vegetation was almost completely desiccated. Apart from the green patches of Crataegus calycina, the thorny Plumbago europaea and the felt-like hairy Nepeta mussinii were flowering, only. The vegetation was formed largely by fruiting individuals, or dry stalks. In addition to Poa bulbosa and Agropyron repens, the annual Secale vavilovii and the perennial Secale segetale (new data on its location), growing to the height of 1 m, were present, too. From the Compositae family, two giant Centaurea species (C. carduiformis, C. behen) emerged from their environs. Identification of Stizolophus balsamita was easy by its strange shaped involuclar bracts. The Cnicus benedictus, which is a cultivated herb in Hungary, was frequent. From the Dipsacaceae family, Scabiosa argentea, S. bipinnata and the annual S. rotata, common everywhere in Armenia, were found in the field. Near the tracks, the appearance of Echium italicum and Astrodaucus orientális, - latter is a common Umbelliferae species in that area - were observed, together with the Zosima obsinthifolia. This composition of the flora is characteristic of the steppe, although the occurrence of Papilionaceae was not as frequent as expected. In the canyons the flora considerably differs from that of the upland described above. Only a few species are able to survive on the dry, rocky sides of mountains. Among the dwarf shrubs, Herniaria hirsuta, Teucrium polium, Thymus kotschyanus and Telephium imperati L. subsp. orientale (two Caryophyllaceae and two Labiatae) were able to survive under the extreme environmental conditions. There was a green strip on the bottom of the canyon, along the riverside (River Azat), where the yellow blossom endemic Michauxia laevigata (Campanulaceae) and the giant specimens of Inula helenium were present.