The taxonomically complicated Crocus series Verni is characterized by high intra-and interspecific variability of karyotypes (2n = 8-23). With the aim to get more insights into complex karyotype evolution and to clarify the taxonomy of this group, we combined morphological (twelve characters), molecular (chloroplast DNA: trnL-trnF, ndhF; nuclear DNA: ITS, pCOSAt103) and karyological analyses. Samples of different populations of C. etruscus, C. ilvensis, C. kosaninii, C. tommasinianus, C. vernus sensu lato and C. longiflorus (series Longiflori) were analyzed. Quantitative karyotype parameters were calculated for all taxa involved based on the available literature. For the taxon traditionally known as C. vernus, the analyses suggest that it should be split in five species: C. heuffelianus, C. neapolitanus, C. neglectus sp. nov., C. siculus and C. vernus. The comparison of genome total haploid lengths suggests that in the evolution of the group polyploidization only played a role within the C. vernus species complex, where we also detected two hybridization events. In all other taxa, chromosome evolution is probably characterized by chromosome fusions and fissions, sometimes affecting the entire haploid chromosome set. Comparative cytogenetics of the group indicates that series Verni is subject to a peculiar type of unequal change in chromosome size, i.e., that not both chromosome arms gain or lose equally in DNA content. As a taxonomic consequence of our study, series Verni is newly circumscribed, now including the autumn-flowering C. longiflorus and excluding C. baytopiorum.

The present study describes the total phenolic content, concentrations of flavonoids and in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of methanol extracts from Seseli pallasii Besser, S. libanotis (L.) Koch ssp. libanotis and S. libanotis (L.) Koch ssp. intermedium (Rupr.) P. W. Ball, growing wild in Serbia. The total phenolic content in the extracts was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and their amounts ranged between 84.04 to 87.52 mg GA (gallic acid)/g. The concentrations of flavonoids in the extracts varied from 4.75 to 19.37 mg Qu (quercetin)/g. Antioxidant activity was analyzed using DPPH reagent. Antioxidant activity ranged from 0.46 to 4.63 IC50 (mg/ml) and from 1.98 to 2.19 mg VitC (vitamin C)/g when tested with the DPPH and ABTS reagents, respectively, using BHA and VitC as controls. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was investigated using a micro-well dilution assay for the most common human gastrointestinal pathogenic bacterial strains: Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027, Salmonella enteritidis ATCC 13076, Bacillus cereus ATCC 10876, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC15313, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Candida albicans ATCC 10231. This finding suggests that Seseli species may be considered as a natural source of antioxidants and antimicrobial agents.

The aim of the present study is to determine the exact number of the Balkan endemic taxa at specific and subspecific rank in the Central Serbia and Kosovo regions, as well as their distribution, and to perform a chorological and ecological analysis of this flora. Detailed and long‐term field studies confirmed the presence of 492 Balkan endemic species and subspecies in the investigated area. The most important contributors at family rank in the Balkan endemic flora are Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae, Fabaceae, Brassicaceae, and Lamiaceae, with Hieracium, Dianthus, Centaurea, and Silene being the genera with the highest number of endemic taxa. In the chorological and life form spectra of the Balkan endemics, taxa from South European and Central European mountainous chorological groups and hemicryptophytes and chamaephytes are the most abundant. The presence of endemic plants in 11 geographical provinces in Central Serbia and Kosovo regions was also analyzed and cluster analysis was used to classify the geographical provinces according to their floristic similarities. The final analyses of distribution and magnitude of endemism include summary mapping of all the endemic taxa at 10 × 10‐km Universal Transverse Mercator maps. High‐mountainous areas of Mts Prokletije and Mts Šar‐Planina are distinctive centres of richness and diversity of the Balkan endemic flora in Central Serbia and Kosovo regions. Most endemics were recorded on limestone and at 1500–2000 m a.s.l. Vegetation classes Asplenietea trichomanes, Festuco‐Brometea, Elyno‐Seslerietea, and Erico‐Pinetea are the richest in endemic taxa. A catalogue of the Balkan endemic taxa in Central Serbia and Kosovo regions, with their threatened and legally protected status, is also presented. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 176, 173–202.

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occurring from western Europe and northwestern Africa to western China, with the center of species diversity on the Balkan Peninsula and in Turkey. Many crocuses are known as popular ornamentals, and saffron, the dried styles of C. sativus L., is one of the world's most expensive spices. Molecular systematic studies (Petersen et al., 2008;Seberg and Petersen, 2009;Harpke et al., 2013) recently showed that several of the infrageneric taxonomic units of Mathew's (1982) revision of the genus are not monophyletic. Among them is series Reticulati B.Mathew of section Nudiscapus B.Mathew, with species occurring in the phylogenetic trees in clades intermingled with taxa of series Biflori B.Mathew and series Speciosi B.Mathew. Traditionally, within C. reticulatus, a species described from the Caucasus (Weber and Mohr, 1805), 2 subspecies are recognized on morphological grounds: subsp. reticulatus and subsp. hittiticus (T.Baytop & B.Mathew) B.Mathew (Mathew, 1982), occurring from Italy to southwestern Russia and Turkey. However, according to Mathew, subsp. reticulatus is highly heterogeneous, including 3 cytotypes with 2n = 10, 12, and 14 chromosomes. Under subsp. reticulatus Mathew (1982) subsumed as synonyms several taxa, such as, for instance, C. micranthus and C. variegatus. To arrive at a systematic treatment of Crocus that reflects natural relationships among taxa we are currently analyzing and circumscribing monophyletic units of the genus (Kerndorff et al., 2013;Harpke et al., 2014). Here we provide data for the C. reticulatus species group in its new definition based on 2 molecular data sets and morphological characters.Molecular markers are able to provide higher numbers of qualitative characters for closely related taxa