Attila Takács

Seed longevity plays a crucial role in the persistence of plant populations, particularly in short-lived species inhabiting unpredictable environments. However, empirical data on long-term seed viability remain scarce, especially for rare and poorly known taxa. Astragalus contortuplicatus is a threatened annual species of periodically flooded habitats, characterized by sporadic occurrence and limited ecological knowledge; based on its annual life cycle and the temporal unpredictability of its habitat, its long-term population persistence is likely facilitated by persistent seed banks. In a previous study, we demonstrated that seeds of this species stored in herbarium collections can retain the ability to germinate for more than a century. Here, we reassess seed germination capacity after an additional 11.5–12 years of dry storage, using the same germination protocol, and analyse temporal changes based on repeated measurements of the same herbarium specimens. Germination data from 2014 and 2026 were evaluated using binomial models, and the relationship between seed age and germination capacity was examined using linear and non-linear approaches. Paired analyses revealed a significant overall decline in germination probability over time, although responses varied among specimens. Despite this decline, seeds from the oldest available sample (collected in 1883) still retained the ability to germinate, with 20% germination after approximately 142.5 years of storage. Across the full dataset, seed age had a significant negative effect on germination, and non-linear models provided a better fit than simple linear regression, indicating that the loss of germination capacity does not follow a strictly linear pattern. Our results confirm the exceptional longevity of seeds in this rare species while also demonstrating that germination capacity declines over time under continued dry storage. These findings are consistent with the ecological expectation that long-lived, dormant seeds may contribute to population persistence in unpredictable habitats, while underlining the potential of herbarium collections as valuable resources for the conservation and possible restoration of threatened plant species. Notably, seeds in the oldest sample retained the ability to germinate, emphasizing the exceptional longevity of seeds in this species.

Ranunculus ophioglossifolius is an amphibious plant species with a disjunct Atlantic–Mediterranean distribution, recorded for the first time in Hungary. Two populations were identified in the south-eastern part of the Pannonian Basin, extending the known range of the species northward. Field surveys, morphometric analyses and phytosociological sampling were conducted to assess its ecology, phenotypic variability and differentiation from three morphologically similar Ranunculus species. Linear discriminant analysis based on selected morphological traits provided high classification accuracy among the studied taxa. New functional trait data are presented, including seed mass and vegetative parameters, which are smaller in the Hungarian populations than the reported European values. These differences are consistent with environmentally induced phenotypic variability. Phytosociological data indicate that the species occurs in Pannonian wet saline meadow mosaics on solonetz soil, primarily within temporarily inundated microhabitats associated with Agrostio stoloniferae–Alopecuretum pratensis, Caricetum melanostachyae, and Bolboschoenetum maritimi communities. The occurrence of R. ophioglossifolius in the Pannonian Basin, together with comparable regional records, suggests that the species may represent either a previously overlooked or a recently established element of the Hungarian flora. These findings contribute to the understanding of species distributions and highlight the relevance of integrated taxonomic and ecological approaches in documenting range dynamics.

Global databases of plant functional traits are facing issues in data heterogeneity and taxonomical or geographical representativeness. To fill data gaps, natural history collections, such as herbaria, have become widely accepted as a potential source of data on functional traits. Surprisingly, root characteristics of plants still have not been studied on herbarium materials. We investigated whether rooting depth data from herbarium samples are realistic enough to be used in ecological studies. We measured original maximum rooting depth records on herbarium specimens and individuals from the field. Global data from the TRY database were also obtained. We tested the pairwise correlations between data from the three datasets. The effect of life form, taxonomic position, and average species height on rooting depth was also evaluated. Herbarium data showed strong correlation to field records, while records from the TRY database showed a weaker correlation with data measured on herbarium materials. Life form, taxonomic position, and height proved to be good predictors of rooting depth collected from the field or the herbarium; however, the model including data obtained from the TRY as the response variable performed weaker. We constructed an equation for predicting realistic average maximum rooting depth values of a given species based on herbarium data. Strong correlation among the field and herbarium datasets suggests that museal collections can be considered as resources of root trait data. Although herbarium‐based rooting depth measurements usually represent lower values than field records, the correction of the herbarium‐derived dataset is solvable. These corrected data might be more accurate than using large, global trait databases. Herbarium work might be a more sustainable, time‐ and cost‐effective practice than field sampling. The inclusion of herbarium‐derived information in trait‐based studies, as well as in global databases, can improve these sources spatially, temporally, and taxonomically.

We present PADAPT 1.0, the Pannonian Database of Plant Traits which relies on regional data sources and integrates existing data and new measurements on a wide range of traits and attributes of the plant species of the Pannonian Biogeographical Region and makes it freely accessible at www.padapt.eu . The current version covers the species of the region occurring in Hungary (cc. 90% of the region’s flora) and consists of 126,337 records on 2745 taxa. There are 53 plant attributes in PADAPT 1.0 organised in six major groups: (i) Habitus and strategy, (ii) Reproduction, (iii) Kariology, (iv) Distribution and conservation, (v) Ecological indicator values, and (vi) Leaf traits. By including species of the eastern part of Europe not covered by other databases, PADAPT can facilitate studying the flora and vegetation of the eastern part of the continent. Data collection will continue in the future and the PADAPT team welcomes researchers interested in contributing with data. The main task before an updated version of the database is to include species of the Pannonian region not covered by the current version. In conclusion, although data coverage is far from complete, PADAPT meets the longstanding need for a regional database of the Pannonian flora.

During the study of the weed flora of garden centers in Hungary (among 2017–2020), remarkable populations of Cardamine occulta Hornem., a new alien for the Hungarian flora were found. C. occulta was present altogether in 51 of the 53 visited sites. Dominantly the regularly irrigated and continuously moist microhabitats (pots, containers, muddy surfaces of geotextile-covered beds etc.) were colonized. During the revision of our recently collected specimens, deposited in JPU and DE herbaria as Cardamine hirsuta L., further individuals proved to identical with this till overlooked species. One of them (27.08.2004., Heves county: Eger [8088.3; 8188.1], coll. by A. Schmotzer, deposited in DE collection) proved to the third documented occurrence in Europe, comparing to the accessed literature data. Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. and Urtica membranacea Poir. are also new aliens for the Hungarian flora. Several introduced individuals of these taxa were found in containers of imported thermophilous woody ornamentals at 4 and 2 sites, respectively. Tens of individuals of Eclipta prostrata were also found in a sapling-bed at another site. New populations of scarce or rare Euphorbia prostrata Aiton, E. serpens Kunth and Veronica peregrina L. were also documented.