Fragon hypoglosse

In Slovakia populations are threatened by forestry causing habitat disturbance, shoot collecting for decorative purposes, and grazing by animals, especially deer (Halada and Erdekska 2005). It is a popular ornamental plant and its slow growth and low germination rate hamper cultivation commercially and it is threatened by collection from the wild. In Bulgaria it is under the regulation of the biodiversity act of 2002, however, it is frequently found in local flower markets and it is also collected from the wild in Romania (Marossy 2006, Ivanova et al. 2013). The beech forest habitat of this species in Bulgaria is also noted to be threatened by unregulated logging, logging roads and erosion related to them, infrastructure development, grazing and forest plantations (Gussev 2014). It is also under over-exploitation pressure in Serbia (Radovic and Kozomara 2011).

This species is listed from 25 Natura 2000 sites, such as the regional nature Park of Monte Cornero in Italy  (EUNIS 2014) and other protected areas such as the Fruška Gora National Park in Serbia. It is recorded from 90 botanic gardens worldwide (BGCI 2013). It is not known whether it is conserved in any seed bank. Micropropagation protocols are being investigated for commercial cultivation and hopefully to reduce the pressures of collection from wild populations (Ivanova et al. 2013).

It is considered a rare and threatened species of the Slovak flora and is listed as Critically Endangered there, in Kosovo (Feráková et al. 2001, Millaku 2006) and in Austria (Niklfeld and Schratt-Ehrendorfer 1999). It is at the northern edge of its range in Slovakia and the population is small. It is listed as Endangered in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Muftic et al. 2011). It is also considered rare and possibly Near Threatened in Hungary (Király 2007). It is included in the Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC as a plant of economic importance and conservation value and in Bulgaria it is under the regulation of the biodiversity act of 2002 (Ivanova et al. 2013). In Romania and Croatia it is also protected by law (Marossy 2006) and in Croatia considered Near Threatened (Nikolic and Topic 2007). It is listed in the red data books of Albania and Ukraine (Kremer et al. 2009) and is noted to be rare in Greece (Greekflora.gr 2014).