The Balkans, also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographic area in Southeast Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria. The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south, the Turkish Straits in the east, and the Black Sea in the northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is variously defined. The highest point of the Balkans is Mount Musala, 2,925 metres (9,596 ft), in the Rila mountain range, Bulgaria.
The Dinaric Alps, also commonly Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southeastern Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo to Albania in the southeast.
Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. Definitions of Southern Europe, also known as Mediterranean Europe, may include countries and regions such as: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Southern France, Spain, Turkey and Vatican City.
Rila is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkan Peninsula and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an altitude of 2,925 m which makes Rila the sixth highest mountain range in Europe after the Caucasus, the Alps, Sierra Nevada, the Pyrenees and Mount Etna, and the highest one between the Alps and the Caucasus. It spans a territory of 2,629 km2 with an average altitude of 1487 m. The mountain is believed to have been named after the river of the same name, which comes from the Old Bulgarian verb "рыти" meaning "to grub".
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are, in alphabetical order: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey. Sometimes, Moldova and Slovenia are also included. The largest city of the region is Istanbul, followed by Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrade, and Athens.
Geum urbanum, also known as wood avens, herb Bennet, colewort and St. Benedict's herb, is a perennial plant in the rose family (Rosaceae), which grows in shady places in the temperate regions of Eurasia. It has been introduced in North America, where it forms natural hybrids with Geum canadense.
Geum rivale, the water avens, is a flowering plant of the family Rosaceae. Other names for the plant are nodding avens, drooping avens, cure-all, water flower and Indian chocolate. It is native to much of Europe, with the exception of Mediterranean areas, as well as some parts of Central Asia and North America. In North America, it is known as purple avens. It grows in bogs and damp meadows, and produces nodding red flowers from May to September.
The Accursed Mountains also known as the Albanian Alps are a mountain group in the western part of the Balkans. It is the southernmost subrange of the 1,000-kilometre-long (621 mi) Dinaric Alps range (Dinarides), extending from northern Albania to south Kosovo and northeastern Montenegro. Maja Jezercë standing at 2,694 m (8,839 ft) is the highest point of the Accursed Mountains and of all Dinaric Alps, and the fifth highest peak in Albania. The highest peak in Montenegro, Zla Kolata at 2,534 m (8,314 ft) and the second-highest in Kosovo, Gjeravica at 2,656 m (8,714 ft) are also part of the range.
Lycaena ottomanus is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Turkey. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and temperate shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Balkan mixed forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of southeastern Europe according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency. It belongs in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome and the Palearctic realm.
Paeonia daurica is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the peony family. It has slender carrot-shaped roots, leaves mostly consisting of nine leaflets, with one flower per stem. The flower is subtended by none to two leafy bracts, and has two or three sepals, five to eight petals, and many stamens. The subspecies vary in the colour of the petals, the size and shape of the leaflets, and the hairiness of the leaflets and the carpels. Paeonia daurica can be found from the Balkans to Iran, and the Crimea to Lebanon, with the centre of its distribution in the Caucasus. It is also cultivated as an ornamental.
Geum coccineum is a species of flowering plant in the genus Geum, in the rose family Rosaceae. Native to the mountains of the Balkans and northern Turkey, it is also grown ornamentally for its bright red flowers.
Acer heldreichii is a species of maple in the flowering plant family Sapindaceae. Commonly called Balkan maple, Greek maple, Heldreich's maple, or mountain maple the species is native to Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Geum montanum, the Alpine avens, is a species of flowering plant of the genus Geum in the Rosaceae family, native to the mountains of central and southern Europe.
Rosa pendulina,, the Alpine rose or mountain rose, is a species of wild rose found in the mountains of central and southern Europe. It appears to have survived in glacial refugia in the Alps and Carpathians, and spread out from there. A climbing shrub with deep pink flowers and relatively few thorns, it has had a history of cultivation as an ornamental plant.
Geum vernum, also known as spring avens, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to the northeastern part of the United States that grows in floodplains and rich woods in the late spring. The species was used to study the fruit evolution in allopolyploid species of Geum and in the preparation of an antimicrobial substance in 1948.
Geum reptans, the creeping avens, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Geum of the family Rosaceae native to some mountains of Central and Southeastern Europe. A long-lived perennial that reproduces both sexually and clonally, it has high phenotypic variation, but these variable traits do not appear to be adaptations to local conditions.
Geum molle is a species of flowering plant of the genus Geum (avens) in the family Rosaceae. A perennial herbaceous plant found on meadows, it is native to the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula and Italy. It blooms with yellow flowers between June and August.
