Waiting through the ice age: a low altitude record of Daphne blagayana near its north-eastern distribution range limit (Danube Gorge, Carpathian Mountains)

Daphne blagayana is a relict laurel forest species with a restricted distribution in southeastern Europe. It is also sporadic in Romania, where it was previously reported only in a few locations in the Carpathians. In 2025, we identified the Balkan Daphne in a region where it had not previously been reported, in the Danube Gorge (Iron Gates Natural Park), southwestern Romania. It populates steep slopes, covered with rare Quercus petraea forests in the upper basin of the Mraconia Valley. The new record is a connection between the populations from the Southern Carpathians and those from the Balkan Peninsula. During the last glacial maximum, the region likely served as a refugium for D. blagayana, from where it advanced along the Romanian Carpathians. The altitude of this population (647 m) fits within a broader context, as other mountain species were recorded at low altitudes in this region. Although D. blagayana is an endemic and relict species, it is not protected in Romania; however, its presence in a protected area with difficult access will likely ensure its survival.