During the period June 1997 - September 1998 the distribution and population state of the medicinal plants in the National Park "Rila" was studied. The investigation is a part of the complete study of the biodiversity in the Park "Rila" - Project of the Ministry for Environment.

The distribution of the medicinal plants was studied according to the tracking method. In the preliminary chosen areas in the altitude range from 1100 to 2700 m a.s.l. We studied different biotops.

In the investigated regions (10.000 ha) there were established 90 species of medicinal plants. Six of them are from the Red Data Book and five species are protected by low: Gentiana lutea L., Gentiana punctata L., Rheum rhaponticum L., Rhodiola rosea L., Angelica pancicii Vand., Alchemilla catachnoa Rothm., Arctostaphyllos uva-ursi (L.)Spreng. etc. Eleven species are under special maintenance regime: Primula veris L., Valeriana officinalis L., Stachys officinalis (L.)Trev., Galium odoratum (L.) Scop., Colchicum autumnale L. etc.

The state and restoration ability of the populations were investigated by measuring their area, spatial structure and reproductive abilities. It was established that the resources of the rare and protected species are limited but the restoration ability of the populations is good.

On the basis of the obtained results we have made recommendations to the management plan of the Park.