Vascular Plants of the Early Medieval Settlement Located in Mały Buczek Near Lipka in the Złotów County

Introduction. An early medieval settlement was located on the Stołunia river in Mały Buczek (north-eastern part of the Wielkopolskie province). This historical monument is legally protected. The aim of the study was to inventory and analyze vascular plants. Material and methods. Field studies were conducted from March to October 2023. Vascular plants was analyzed in terms of geographical-historical and socio-ecological groups, life forms and frequency of occurrence. Results. A total of 104 vascular plant species belonging to 84 genera and 47 families were inventoried in the study area, including 25 species of woody plants. The most common families are Lamiaceae, Poaceae, Ranunculaceae and Rosaceae. Two species under partial and strict protection were found. Twenty most valuable trees were described, of which 8 were with monument circumferences. The most numerous category of life forms were hemicryptophytes (43%), geophytes (18%) and megaphanerophytes (13%). The geographical-historical group was dominated by native species (94%) over alien species (6%), among which kenophytes were predominant (5%). The flora is dominated by species of forest communities from the classes: Fagetalia, Prunetalia (49%), Quercion, Epilobion, Nardetalia (13%) and nitrophilic: Sambuco-Salicion, Alilarion (8%). Conclusion. The vascular plants of the early medieval settlement in Mały Buczek represent frequent, common and native species. There are few valuable, rare and protected plants. For two species a new locality in the Wielkopolska region has been recorded. The current study of the vascular plants in the early medieval settlement in Mały Buczek showed no traces of species related to former human activity.