Willdenowia 38
Willdenowia – Annals of the Botanic Garden and
Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem
ISSN 0511-9618
© 2008 BGBM Berlin-Dahlem.
Bergmeier, E. & Abrahamczyk, S.: Current and historical diversity and new records of
wetland plants in Crete, Greece.
Willdenowia 38: 433-453.
doi:10.3372/wi.38.38205
Abstract
A list of uncommon plants of wet or seasonally moist habitats of Crete is presented
(72 vascular plants, 10 bryophytes, 5 charophytes), based on a survey of 50 localities,
most of them in western Crete. For each species new records are compiled and precise locality
data are given. For most plant occurrences frequency estimates are provided. Recorded here as
new to Crete are Anagallis minima, Callitriche brutia, Myosotis sicula, Chiloscyphus polyanthus,
Philonotis calcarea, Chara galioides and Nitella tenuissima. Several records are
the first of a taxon in one of the four Cretan prefectures. Continuity and change in the species
composition of wetlands are discussed based on comparisons with historical records.
Cretan wetlands are currently under threat due to over-exploitation of water resources
from springs and streams. Especially coastal marshes are critically endangered as a result
of the expansion of urban settlements and tourist resorts, through neglect of traditional
grazing and cutting, and due to administrative mismanagement and detrimental agricultural practice.
Additional key words:
Bryophyta, Charophyta, vascular plants, floristic inventory, hydrophytes, Mediterranean wetlands
