Abstract: | The Bulgarian vascular flora includes 3 900 species, belonging to 916 genera and 159 families. The current data shows that 186 species are Bulgarian and 312 species- Balkan endemic plants (Petrova et al., 2005).
Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP) present a significant part of the Bulgaria,s biodiversity and they play very important role in the everyday life of men- phytomedicines, herbal teas and other natural products.
Bulgaria is a traditional producer and supplier of high quality medicinal herbs, essential oils, etc. According to the Law on Medicinal plants (2000) 739 vascular plants are used for medical purposes, as spices, for cosmetic products or as food. 29 rare and valuable species are included in this list also (2004). The major part of this biodiversity presents Magnoliophyta-658 species. There were remarked some families with big species richness: Asteraceae- 76, Lamiaceae- 68, Rosaceae- 68, Fabaceae- 42, Apiaceae- 40, etc. Polypodiophyta includes 14, Equisetophyta-5 and Lycopodiophyta- 3 species. One species from Algae ( Cystoseira barbata (Good et Vood) Ag ) and one species from Lychenes (Cetraria islandica (L.)Ach.) have been included in this list also (Gussev, 2005). |
