''Heliosperma'' is a genus of
flowering plants in the family
Caryophyllaceae. As such, it is closely related to the large genus ''
Silene'', but its members can be told apart from ''Silene'' by the crest of long papillae on the seeds.
The majority of the species are narrow
endemics
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
from the
Balkan Peninsula
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, but ''
H. alpestre'' is endemic to the
Eastern Alps, and ''
H. pusillum'' is found from the in northern Spain to the
Carpathians. Like members of the genus ''Silene'' and other related genera, ''Heliosperma'' is attacked by species of the anther
smut fungus ''
Microbotryum
''Microbotryum'' is a genus of fungi found in the family Microbotryaceae. It contains 89 species.
Species
*'' Microbotryum adenopetalae''
*''Microbotryum afromontanum''
*'' Microbotryum ahmadianum''
*'' Microbotryum alsines''
*'' Microbotryu ...
''. Cases of parallel divergence events between alpine and mountain populations have been reported in this genus.
Species
Around 15 species are currently recognised in the genus:
*''
Heliosperma albanicum''
K.Malý
*''
Heliosperma alpestre''
Rchb. – Eastern Alps
*''
Heliosperma chromodontum''
Rohrb. – Greece
*''
Heliosperma insulare''
Trinajstić – Croatia
*''
Heliosperma intonsum''
(Greuter & Melzh.) Niketić & Stevan. – Greece
*''
Heliosperma macranthum''
Pančić
*''
Heliosperma monachorum''
Vis. & Pančić
*''
Heliosperma nikolicii''
(A.Seliger & Wraber) Niketić & Stevan. – Kosovo
*''
Heliosperma oliverae''
Niketić & Stevan. – Montenegro
*''
Heliosperma pudibundum''
Griseb.
*''
Heliosperma pusillum''
Vis. – NW Spain, Pyrenees, Alps, Carpathians
*''
Heliosperma retzdorffianum
''Heliosperma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. As such, it is closely related to the large genus '' Silene'', but its members can be told apart from ''Silene'' by the crest of long papillae on the seeds. The major ...
''
Maly – Bosnia and Herzegovina
*''
Heliosperma tommasinii
''Heliosperma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. As such, it is closely related to the large genus '' Silene'', but its members can be told apart from ''Silene'' by the crest of long papillae on the seeds. The major ...
''
Vis. – Montenegro, Albania
*''
Heliosperma vandasii''
Neumayer – Macedonia
*''
Heliosperma veselskyi
''Heliosperma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. As such, it is closely related to the large genus '' Silene'', but its members can be told apart from ''Silene'' by the crest of long papillae on the seeds. The major ...
''
Janka – Slovenia
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
Caryophyllaceae genera
Taxa named by Ludwig Reichenbach
{{Caryophyllaceae-stub