''Ramonda serbica'', also known as Serbian ramonda and Serbian phoenix flower, is a species in the family
Gesneriaceae
Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Ges ...
and are one of the four plants in the
Ramonda genus. It was first discovered in 1874 near
Niš
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
, Serbia, by the Serbian botanist
Josif Pančić
Josif Pančić ( sr-cyr, Јосиф Панчић; April 17, 1814 – February 25, 1888) was a Serbian botanist, a doctor of medicine, a lecturer at the Great School (the future University of Belgrade), and the first president of the Serbian Roya ...
. The Serbian ramonda is notable for its distinctive
desiccation tolerance
Desiccation tolerance refers to the ability of an organism to withstand or endure extreme dryness, or drought-like conditions. Plants and animals living in arid or periodically arid environments such as temporary streams or ponds may face the chall ...
.
Description
Ramonda stands as one of the rare European members of its plant family. Known for its remarkable resilience, this plant has the unique ability to revive when watered, even from a fully dehydrated state—an attribute commonly referred to as
desiccation tolerance
Desiccation tolerance refers to the ability of an organism to withstand or endure extreme dryness, or drought-like conditions. Plants and animals living in arid or periodically arid environments such as temporary streams or ponds may face the chall ...
. It thrives in cool, damp, shaded environments, primarily on steep, north-facing limestone surfaces.
The flower was first discovered in Serbia and its natural habitat is the Balkans.
Classification
Ramonda serbica is one of four plants in the
Ramonda (plant) genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
. Not to be confused with
''Ramonda nathaliae'', these two flowers differ mainly in the shape and color of leaves, and in durability too. Although they belong to the same family, the only place in the world where these two Ramondas grow next to each other is the vicinity of
Niš
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
, Serbia.
See also
*
Ramonda nathaliae
*
List of Balkan endemic plants
*
National symbols of Serbia
*
Ramonda (song)
References
Bibliography
* Mike F. Quartacci, Olivera Glisic, Branka Stevanovic, and Flavia Navari-Izzo. Plasma membrane lipids in the resurrection plant Ramonda serbica following dehydration and rehydration. J. Exp. Bot 2001.53:2159-2166.
* Rix, E.M. & Webb, D.A. 1972. Ramonda L.C.M. Richard. - In: Tutin, T.G., Heywood, V.H., Burges, N.A., Moore, D.M., Valentine, D.H., Walters, S.M. & Webb, D.A. Flora Europaea vol. 3. Pp. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
* Markova, M. 1995. Ramonda. - In: Kozhuharov, S. Flora of People's Republic of Bulgaria. Vol. 10. pp. 288–289. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Publishing House, Sofia. (In Bulgarian)
* Petrova, A. & Vladimirov, V. 2010. Balkan endemics in the Bulgarian flora. - Phytologia Balcanica 16(2): 293–311.
* Rakić, T., Gajić, G., Lazarević, M., & Stevanović, B. (2015). Effects of different light intensities, CO2 concentrations, temperatures and drought stress on photosynthetic activity in two paleoendemic resurrection plant species Ramonda Serbica and R. Nathaliae. ''Environmental and Experimental Botany'', ''109'', 63–72
Flora of Europe
Didymocarpoideae
Plants described in 1874
{{Gesneriaceae-stub