As a result of floristic investigations in the Valamara mountain range carried out between 2007 and 2016, 567 taxa belonging to 305 genera and 89 plant families were recorded, of which 307 taxa are reported as new for the area. A phytogeographical analysis showed that the Eurasian chorological type was the most dominant comprising 126 taxa (22.2% of the flora), the second was Balkan with 104 taxa (18.3%). There are 9 endemic and subendemic taxa. Epilobium alsinifolium, Dichoropetalum stridii and Taraxacum pindicum are new for the Albanian flora. Life-form analysis indicates that 56.8% of the species are hemicryptophytes; this high percentage points to the Mediterranean nature of the investigated area. A total of 119 species (20.9 %) are listed as deserving conservation status. Of these, 49 are in the Albanian Red List, 76 species in the IUCN Red List, two in the Habitats Directive, one included in Annex I of the Bern Convention and seven species in Appendix II of CITES.Key words: floristic investigation, biodiversity, phenology, chorology, conservation.
IntroductionValamara is a mountain range in south-eastern Albania, located between the districts of Korça, Pogradeci and Gramshi. It has a number of peaks, the highest of which is 'Maja e Valamarës', which reaches 2373 m elevation. The flora of the Valamara Mts is poorly explored and no detailed studies are available. The first floristic records from this region are by Markgraf (1927Markgraf ( , 1931 and Demiri (1959). Sporadic floristic records were later published by Paparisto & Qosja (1976), Gölz & Reinhard (1984), Barina & Pifkó (2008, 2011), Shuka & Tan (2009) and Meyer (2011, and some notes on the vegetation of the area were published by Vangjeli (1983) and Buzo (1990). On the basis of these references and the collections deposited in the Tirana herbarium (TIR, 262 taxa are documented for the Valamara Mts).The geographical location, complex topography, climate characteristics, different rock substrata and soil types and hydrological conditions, are factors contributing to a rich flora and vegetation and make the Valamara Mts unique. In this study we provide a list of the vascular flora together with an analysis of taxonomy, chorology, phenology, life form and conservation status for each species.
Study area: geology and climate