page_title: Strandzha Nature Park
section_title: Flora
hierarchical_section_title: Strandzha Nature Park / Biology / Flora
caption_attribution_description: Български: Странджанска Зеленика в резервата "Силкосия" English: Rhododendron ponticum in the Bulgarian reserve Silkosia
context_page_description: Strandzha Nature Park is the largest protected area in Bulgaria spanning a territory of 1,161 square kilometres in the Strandzha Mountain in the extreme south-eastern corner of the country on the border with Turkey. It was established on 25 January 1995 to protect ecosystems and biodiversity of European importance, as well as the traditional cultural, historical and folklore heritage of the region. The altitude varies from 710 metres on Gradishte Peak to 0 metres at the Black Sea coast with average length of 50 kilometres from west to east and 20 kilometres from north to south.
  The nature park is situated in Burgas Province with two towns, Malko Tarnovo and Ahtopol, and several villages within its territory. It includes five nature reserves: Silkosiya, Sredoka, Tisovitsa, Uzunbodzhak and Vitanovo. Silkosiya is the oldest one in Bulgaria, established in 1933, and Uzunbodzhak is included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme. The whole territory is part of the network of nature protection areas of the European Union, Natura 2000.
context_section_description: In terms of biogeography the park falls within both the Balkan mixed forests, and the Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests terrestrial ecoregions of the Palearctic temperate broadleaf and mixed forest. The combination of climate, specific geographic position and relief, as well as the lack of a strong anthropogenic influence, have contributed to the formation of 130 different  habitats, making Strandzha Nature Park first in that indicator among all protected areas in Europe. There are 1670 species of vascular plants which constitute 44% of the total number of species in Bulgaria.
  The vegetation of the park includes many communities of a Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean type: warm oak forests with undergrowth of evergreen sclerophyll shrubs, such as tree heath (Erica arborea), butcher's-broom (Ruscus aculeatus), Rose of Sharon (Hypericum calycinum), green olive tree (Phillyrea latifolia), Cistus incanus, sage-leaved rock rose (Cistus salvifolius), among others. The xerothermic grasslands along the coast and in some areas to the west of the park have replaced forests destroyed by human activity. The most widespread floral communities of that type are dominated by Chrysopogon gryllus, Bothriochloa ischaemum and bulbous bluegrass (Poa bulbosa). The coastal dunes are home to psammophytic vegetation. The river banks are covered with dense forests of black alder (Alnus glutinosa), white willow (Salix alba) and crack willow (Salix fragilis).
  Deciduous forests cover 80% of the park's area and belong to 28 forest and 18 bush habitats. This variety is due to the lower river valleys, the sea coast and the karstic terrain. These include forests of oriental beech (Fagus orientalis), sessile oak (Quercus petraea), Strandzhan oak (Quercus hartwissiana), Hungarian oak (Quercus frainetto), common hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), oriental hornbeam (Carpinus orientalis) and small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata) with undergrowth of pontic rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum), Caucasian whortleberry (Vaccinium arctostaphylos), cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), Black Sea holly (Ilex colchica), Himalayan meadow primrose (Primula rosea) and common heather (Calluna).
  There are 64 relict plant species, 6 of which cannot be found elsewhere in the European Union — Strandzhan oak, Caucasian whortleberry, Colchic holly,  twin-flowered daphne (Daphne pontica), tutsan (Hypericum androsaemum) and H. calycinum. The Pontic rhododendron is the symbol of the park and an important relict species with a highly disjunct areal in Europe where it inhabits only the north-western Iberian Peninsula and Strandzha. There are 56 endemic plant species, including local endemics (Veronica turrilliana and Anthemis jordanovii), western Black Sea coast endemics (Silene caliacrae and Lepidotrichum uechtrizianum), 6 Bulgarian endemics (Pyrus bulgarica, Oenanthe millefolia, Galium bulgaricum, Veronica krumovii, among others) and 40 Balkan endemics, such as Saponaria stranjensis. 113 species are listed in the Red Book of Bulgaria, including several species that within Bulgaria can only be found in the park — Ophrys reinholdii, Verbascum bugulifolium, Sideritis syriaca, Cistus laurifolius, among others.
caption: Pontic rhododendron, the symbol of Strandzha nature park
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