Attila Mesterházy; Roman Romanov; Filip Verloove

Phytologia Balcanica 31: 81-86, doi: 10.3897/phytolbalcan.31.e161721

Eleocharis caduca (Cyperaceae), a new alien species in Montenegro and the Balkan Peninsula

Attila Mesterházy^‡, Roman Romanov^§, Filip Verloove^|

‡ Unaffiliated, Celldömölk, Hungary§ Dobra Voda, Bar, Montenegro| Meise Botanic Garden, Meise, Belgium

Corresponding author: Attila Mesterházy ( amesterhazy@gmail.com )

Academic editor: Ana Petrova

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Mesterházy A, Romanov R, Verloove F (2025) Eleocharis caduca (Cyperaceae), a new alien species in Montenegro and the Balkan Peninsula. Phytologia Balcanica 31: 81-86. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytolbalcan.31.e161721

Abstract

This paper describes the first find of Eleocharis caduca (Cyperaceae) in Montenegro, which is also the first record for the Balkan Peninsula. A large population has been found at one location in Southeast Montenegro, in the coastal area of Long Beach near the village of Donji Štoj. The species is native to Tropical Africa. Some populations of that species are known in the Mediterranean part of Europe (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Crete), but the species’ status in Europe remains uncertain. The distribution, morphological features and the habitat preferences of the species are presented. Based on field research, the authors think that the species can be considered a naturalized non-native in the flora of Montenegro that may appear in other parts of the Balkan Peninsula in the future.

Keywords

Balkan Peninsula, Eleocharis, Cyperaceae, non-native plants