The Queen of the Mountains Returns to Porezen
dr. Jože Bavcon
Date of publication:
The Botanical Garden of the University of Ljubljana is saving a rare and endangered plant species – Eryngium alpinum, known as the Queen of the Mountains or alpine sea holly – with the help of seed banks.
Changes in land use and climate change are causing the rapid decline of many plant populations, and some species are even disappearing from nature altogether. Part of the solution lies in seed banks: safe repositories of genetic material from which new plants can be grown and returned to their natural habitats.
One of the challenges addressed by the international LIFESeedforce project is the conservation of the Queen of the Mountains on Mount Porezen, where its population is in decline. In Slovenia, this species has only two known habitats left – on Porezen and on Črna prst. Yet even on Porezen, the number of plants is shrinking year after year, mainly due to overgrowth of meadows with brambles, tall herbaceous plants, and shrubs, as well as the abandonment of traditional mowing and grazing.
Since overgrowth prevents the Queen of the Mountains from thriving, conservation measures are essential. Through the LIFESeedforce project, the Botanical Garden of the University of Ljubljana will preserve and strengthen the population to the point where it becomes stable again.
The project brings together 15 partners from Slovenia, Italy, France, and Malta, led by MUSE Trento from Italy. Its main goal is the reintroduction or reinforcement of plant populations in Natura 2000 areas through the use of seed banks. For Slovenia, five species have been selected, including the Queen of the Mountains.
In the initial phase, experts collected plant material from the existing Porezen population for genetic analysis. Analyses carried out in Udine revealed exceptionally high intraspecific diversity – greater than that of Italian populations – and a clear genetic distinction from them. Based on these results, the Botanical Garden of the University of Ljubljana grew young plants from the collected seeds. In the final phase of the project, these will be planted on Porezen – a total of 150 new seedlings.
The local community is also actively involved in the project. By maintaining regular mowing or grazing, it will ensure the long-term survival of the Queen of the Mountains’ habitat. Although nature conservation projects officially last five years, securing the long-term survival of a species takes much more time. For this reason, the Botanical Garden of the University of Ljubljana will continue monitoring the new seedlings and the entire population even after the project ends.
The goal is clear: that the valley beneath the summit of Porezen will once again shine in royal blue and the Queen of the Mountains will reign once more over her alpine kingdom.
