Degenia

Degenia
Degenia velebitica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Degenia
Hayek
Species:
D. velebitica
Binomial name
Degenia velebitica
(Degen) Hayek
Synonyms[1]
  • Alyssum velebeticum (Degen) Degen
  • Lesquerella velebitica Degen (1909) (basionym)

Degenia is a monotypic plant genus in the family Brassicaceae containing the single species Degenia velebitica. The yellow-flowered plant is endemic to the Velebit and Kapela mountain ranges of Croatia.[2] It is an endangered species and has had protected status since 1964.[3] It grows in open stony grasslands, settled scree slopes, and rock crevices fully exposed to sun and stormy northeasterly (Bora) winds, from 300 to 1300 meters elevation.[4]

Discovered by Árpád Degen in 1909,[3] the species has since become a symbol of the region. Known in Croatian by the translation of the binomial name (velebitska degenija), it was depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 50 lipa coin, minted from 1993 to 2022.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Degenia velebitica (Degen) Hayek". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  2. ^ Radović, Jasminka; Čivić, Kristijan; Topić, Ramona, eds. (2006). Biodiversity of Croatia (PDF). Zagreb: State Institute for Nature Protection Ministry of Culture, Republic of Croatia. ISBN 953-7169-20-0.
  3. ^ a b Naumovski, Dubravka (2005). "Germination ecology of seeds of endemic species Degenia velebitica (Degen) Hayek (Brassicaceae)". Acta Botanica Croatica. 64 (2): 323–30.
  4. ^ Liber, Z., Surina, B., Nikolić, T. et al. Spatial distribution, niche ecology and conservation genetics of Degenia velebitica (Brassicaceae), a narrow endemic species of the north-western Dinaric Alps. Plant Systematics and Evolution 306, 64 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-020-01695-3
  5. ^ Croatian National Bank. Kuna and Lipa, Coins of Croatia Archived 2009-06-22 at the Wayback Machine: 50 Lipa Coin Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine. – Retrieved on 31 March 2009.

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