Distribution of the species
The Golden drop is present in dry and limestone stony places, in meadows, rocky slopes and outcrops, in bushes and forests at low and medium altitudes, from about 300 to 1,000 m asl.
Description of the species (biological and ecological features)
Perennial herbaceous plant, with many erect hairy stems, up to 30 cm tall. The leaves at the bottom of the stem are linear, lanceolate and hairy. The flowers are broadly tubular, light yellow in color, hanging from very small peduncles (you may have heard them called stalks, meaning the part of the flower that connects it to the stem). It flowers from June to July. It has a high aesthetic value due to its flowers, also being a donkey delicacy located by smell, hence its name (onos=donkey + osmi=smell).
Due to its relatively wide distribution on Mount Paggaio, no particular threats and pressures were observed or reported, which could lead to a significant reduction in its population.
Conservation status
Presidential Decree 67/81 (F.E.K. 23 / A / 30-01-1981) “On the protection of native flora and fauna and defining a procedure for coordinating and controlling their research”.
Conservation state
It is considered an important species as its global distribution is limited to the Balkan Peninsula and Anatolia. For this reason, it is included in the list (with its synonymous name of Onosma psammophila) of Presidential Decree 67/81 (F.E.K. 23 / A / 30-01-1981) “On the protection of native flora and fauna and defining a procedure for coordinating and controlling their research”.