ELBA Bioflux, 2010, Volume 2, Issue 2. http://www.elba.bioflux.com.ro 58 ELBA BIOFLUX Extreme Life, Biospeology & Astrobiology International Journal of the Bioflux Society Plantago cornuti Gouan, a rare halophyte: sites from Transylvanian Depression (Romania) Raluca Diodiu ”Babeş-Bolyai” University, Faculty of Environmental Science, 400327 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; e-mail: raluca_dio@yahoo.com Abstract. This paper is a brief summary on the rare halophile species Plantago cornuti Gouan’s populations in the Transylvanian Depression (Romania). In this work were listed and characterized a number of sites across the Transylvanian Depression, where Plantago cornuti Gouan vegetate. Data were obtained on the physical characteristics of species and chemical composition of soils that are good for species’s development. There are also mentioned the countries of Europe in which was reported the presence of this species. Key words: Plantago cornuti Gouan, rare halophilic species, Transylvanian Depression. Résumé. Ce travail représente une courte synthèse sur les populations de l’espèce halophile rare Plantago cornuti Gouan sur le territoire du Transilvania (Romania).Dans le cadre de ce travail nous avons énuméré et caractérisé quelques sites dans la Plateau de Transylvanie où végète Plantago cornuti Gouan. Nous avons obtenu des informations sur les caractéristiques physiques de cette espèce et le component chimique de terre qui sont propre pour le développement de cette espèce. De plus, nous avons mentionné les pays Européennes dans les quels est signalé la présence de cette espèce. Mots clés: Plantago cornuti Gouan, plantes halophiles rares, Plateau de Transylvanie. Rezumat. Această lucrare reprezintă o scurtă sinteză asupra populaţiilor speciei halofile rare Plantago cornuti Gouan de pe teritoriul Depresiunii Transilvaniei (Romania) În cadrul acestei lucrări s-au enumerat şi caracterizat câteva dintre siturile de pe cuprinsul Depresiunii Transilvaniei, în care vegeteaza Plantago cornuti Gouan. Au fost obtinute date privind caracteristicile fizice ale speciei în cauză si componenţa chimică a solurilor care sunt propice pentru dezvoltarea acestei specii. De asemenea, sunt mentionate ţările din Europa în care este semnalată prezenţa acestei specii. Cuvinte cheie: Plantago cornuti Gouan, plante halofile rare, Depresiunea Transilvaniei 1. Introduction The Transylvanian Depression phytocenoses are the most outstanding and endangered ecosystems that contain also the rarest and the most extinction prone species (due to the human activity) from the flora of this region (Bădărău 2005). Plantago cornuti is a rare halophilic species present in the Transylvanian Depression. It was characterized as an halophile but it prefers soils with high humidity and medium salinization (Bădărău 2005). The name “Gouan” from Plantago cornuti Gouan is after the French naturalist and biologist Antoine Gouan. Plantago is one of the largest genera of the Plantaginaceae, with about 200 species, and is probably the most widely distributed genus (Albach et al 2005). Plantaginaceae belongs to the Scrophulariaceae family, according to Erdtman (1952), or, more recently, to Plantaginaceae Juss., also named plantain family (Olmstead 2003). Plantago is often segregated into three genera: Littorella, Bougueria, and Plantago. Recently was shown that Bougueria derived from within Plantago (Rønsted et al 2002). Recent studies show that the adaptation mechanisms to different environmental conditions can consist in demographic senescence in natural populations of Plantago