Flora and fauna of the Romanian Carpathians

Found 264 species
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Norway mapleNorway mapleAcer platanoidesA maple with pointed leaves that turns yellow and orange in autumn. It grows in deciduous forests of the foothills and in villages.
Black-berried honeysucklePoisonousBlack-berried honeysuckleLonicera nigraA mountain shrub with paired blue-black berries on a long stem. The berries are inedible—do not confuse them with blueberries.
Monk's rhubarbMonk's rhubarbRumex alpinusMonk's rhubarb with its huge round leaves. Its thickets on the polonynas indicate where the sheepfolds and stables used to stand.
Yellow stagshornYellow stagshornCalocera viscosaBright yellow 'coral' on decayed spruce stumps. An inedible mushroom, one of the most noticeable in coniferous forests.
Scarletina boleteEdible only after cookingScarletina boleteNeoboletus erythropusDark brown bolete with red pores and a speckled stem that instantly turns blue when cut. Conditionally edible: only after thorough cooking.
Bitter boleteBitter boleteTylopilus felleusA lookalike of the porcini mushroom with pink tubes and a dark mesh on the stem. Not poisonous, but very bitter: one mushroom can spoil the entire dish.
Carpathian scorpionCarpathian scorpionEuscorpius carpathicusYes, there is a local scorpion in the Carpathians — small, dark, and nearly harmless. It lives only in the warm valleys of the Romanian Carpathians.
AuriculaAuriculaPrimula auriculaYellow fragrant flowers on the limestone cliffs of Slovakia and the Polish Tatras. They bloom in spring and smell like apricots.
Clusius' gentianClusius' gentianGentiana clusiiA large sapphire-blue cup-shaped flower on a tiny stem is a highlight of the limestone Tatra Mountains in spring. It grows only in the Tatras in Poland.
Large blue hepaticaLarge blue hepaticaHepatica transsilvanicaBlue flowers of early spring in the mountain forests of the Romanian Carpathians. The species grows only in Romania and nowhere else in the world.
Moss campionMoss campionSilene acaulisA dense green cushion sprinkled with pink flowers on the highest rocks of the Tatras and Romanian Carpathians. An Arctic plant that has survived in the high mountains.
Common wall lizardCommon wall lizardPodarcis muralisA nimble lizard of rocks, walls, and ruins. In the Carpathians, it lives in Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania; it is absent from the Ukrainian Carpathians.