FLORISTIC AND CHOROLOGICAL RECORDS FOR MONOCOTS OF THE LAKE SHKODRA

Flora of the freshwater wetlands ecosystem of Lake Shkodra is very rich. About 236 aquatic and wetland plant species and subspecies, of them 112 Monocots were reported. New floristic and chorological records regarding to the monocots of Lake Shkodra and Delta Buna basins during our field trip were observed. Altogether, 5 plant species and 2 subspecies of Monocots are reported and discussed, of which 3 species and 2 subspecies: Carex michelii Host 1797, Juncus sphaerocarpus Nees 1968, Najas flexilis (Willd.) Rostk. & W.L.E. Schmidt 1824, Carex viridula subsp. oedocarpa (Andersson) B.Schmid 1983 and Romulea linaresii Parl. subsp. graeca Béguinot 1907 are new for the flora of Albania, while 2 species: Schoenoplectus litoralis (Schrad.) Palla and Elodea canadensis Michx for first time from Delta Buna were reported. Romulea linaresii subsp. graeca is an endemic of the Aegean Islands to West Turkey, while Najas flexilis is rare in the European portion of its range and is strictly protected by Appendix I of the Berne Convention. The variability of the certain taxonomic characters, life forms, preferred habitat and actual knowledge for the most of them are presented. Also, the distribution of all species was mapped on 10 x 10 sq. km and shown in a UTM grid system.