Great androsace, a plant thought lost from Serbia, found at Malka Golaja

In spring 2026, biologists Dr Miloš Popović and Branko Jotić found great androsace (Androsace maxima L.) on the Malka Golaja plateau, where the lands of the villages of Nikoličevo, Zvezdan and Gamzigrad meet. The species is protected in Serbia, and was last recorded there in the time of Josif Pančić, around Niš, Belgrade and Novi Sad.

Branko Jotić describes it as an exceptionally rare and significant species which, given how few confirmed sites remain, will be included in the forthcoming edition of the Red Book of the Flora of Serbia, currently being compiled.

The find came out of biodiversity mapping carried out around Zaječar by the Eko Istok association. The site overlaps with the planned expansion of the Čukaru Peki mining and metallurgical complex and the Malka Golaja deposit, across the territories of Zaječar and Bor. The association argues that systematic biodiversity mapping has to come before decisions on large mining and infrastructure projects, rather than trailing behind them.

The full article was published by Mašina (in Serbian).