Plants of the Siberian Flora exposition of the N.V. Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden RAS, listed in the Red Book of Russia

The strategy and key principles of setting up natural flora exhibits were conceptualized by the founder and first manager of the Flora Department, Prof. M. Kultiasov based on the ecological and historical method of plant introduction. The Siberian flora exhibit was among the first created by the Laboratory. Nowadays it comprises 111 species (131 specimens) belonging to 68 genera of 39 families of plants. This collection includes 5 species of plants listed in the Red Data Book of Russia, namely Anemonastrum baicalense (Turcz.) Mosyakin, Cotoneaster acutifolius Turcz., Erythronium sibiricum (Fisch. & C.A. Mey.) Krylov, Paeonia tenuifolia L., Leuzea carthamoides (Willd.) DC. By category of rareness, out of five these species, one (Paeonia tenuifolia) belongs to Category Two (threatened) and four species (Anemonastrum baicalense, Cotoneaster acutifolius, Erythronium sibiricum, Leuzea carthamoides) belong to Category Three (rare). By category of integrated introductory resistance, all the species introduced may be categorized as ‘resistant in a controlled environment’. Keywords: PLANT INTRODUCTION, NATIVE FLORA OF THE SIBERIA, RARE AND ENDANGERED PLANTS, RED DATA BOOK OF RUSSIA, MOSCOW, N. V. TSITSIN MAIN BOTANICAL GARDEN RAS

Features of the flora and vegetation of the Pyatigorye’s upland steppes (ecoregion of the Caucasian Mineral Waters)

The article deals with the issues of localization and landscape preference of Pyatigorye’s phytocenoses ofthe upland steppes. The syntaxonomic composition of the steppe communities on the studied territory, as well as the typesof the floristic core, are indicated. It consists of graminoids, mesothermal perennials of long vegetation, caudex herbs ofan ephemeroid type of development, and bulbous geophytes. The features of communities, the reasons for their spatialdifferentiation are revealed. The distribution of species by relief elements and communities was determined expertlyon the basis of field studies (2018–2021). It was concluded that the main factors determining the diversity of uplandsteppe vegetation in the studied region are the nature of the destruction of the parent rock and soil development, the levelof insolation and ecotope moisture. The steppe communities of Pyatigorye on carbonate underdeveloped thin skeletalchernozems are distinguished by their species richness. In most of them, Stipa pulcherrima plays a high phytocenotic role,as well as other sod and dense bush grasses. Species of the “southern” steppe and Caucasian forbs, incl. petrophytes playsignificant role. The communities include rare species in the region: Astragalus brachycarpus, Dictamnus gymnostylis,Leopoldia tenuiflora, Paeonia tenuifolia, Iris pumila, I. aphylla, Orchis tridentata, Asphodeline taurica, Lamyra echinocephala,Linum tauricum, Onosma caucasica, Cerasus incana, Cephalaria coriacea. The studied representative communities areimportant for the conservation of the biological diversity of the region. Habitats of rare species are of scientific importanceand are of nature conservation interest.

Structure of coenopopulations and phytocoenotic confinement of Paeonia tenuifolia L. in floristic complexes of Oka-Don lowland

Paeonia tenuifolia L. is a rare and protected plant of Saratov region classified as 2 (V) vulnerable species. It has been established that in Kalininsky district, Saratov region, this plant is characterized by narrow environmental amplitude and is exerted to anthropogenic impacts, the coenopopulations are isolated from each other. Existence of the species in communities of the meadow–steppe floristic complexes of Kalininsky district has confirmed that peony is heliophyte, xeromesophyte, eutrophic plant and calcicole. Photophily of P. tenuifoliais confirmed first of all by its high abundance and occurrence in open steppe communities. In both coenopopulations of P.tenuifolia, the indices of recovery have been higher than 1 (CP 1 Irec = 3.38, CP 2 Irec = 1.67), that is, the coenopopulations are relatively steady, numerous seeds are generated giving birth to viable individuals. The index of replacement showing the ratio of the density of regrowth to total mature fraction of the population has been higher in CP 1 (Irepl = 0.80) and lower in CP 2 (Irepl = 0.67). Moderate index of maturing evidence long-term existence of the species in the generative state.

Features of medicinal plants storage in Ukraine

Modern taxonomic composition of herbs in Red Book of Ukraine is unified. A new category of natural reserve fund — «resource reserves» as a mechanism for rational use and conservation phytobiota is proposed. The prospects of cultivation of endangered, rare species ex-situ in order to further their repatriation and used in herbal medicine are given. One of the promising areas is growing seedlings peat-sapropel composts (50×50% adjustable pH). We confirmed the successful cultivation of such rare medicinal plants as Adonis vernalis L., Asphodeline lutea (L.) Reichenb., Astragalus dasyanthus Pall., Atropa belladonna L., Bulbocodium versicolor (Ker-Gawl.) Spreng., Crataegus pentagyna Waldst. et Kit., Digitalis grandiflora Mill., Drosera intermedia Hayne, D. anglica Huds., D. rotundifolia L., Galanthus nivalis L., Glaucium flavum Crantz, Glychrrhiza glabra L., Lilium martagon L., Melittis sarmatica Klokov, Muscari neglectum Guss., Paeonia tenuifolia L., Primula elatior L., Pulsatilla pratensis (L.) Mill. s.l., Quercus petraea (Mattuschka) Liebl., Scutellaria creticola Juz., Scopolia carniolica Jacq., Veratrum lobelianum Bernh. et. al.

First Report on Natural Infection of Paeonia tenuifolia by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’ in Serbia

Peony (Paeonia tenuifolia L.) is a herbaceous perennial plant known for its beautiful and showy flowers. In Serbia it is native to the Deliblato Sands and is used as an ornamental and medicinal plant in folk medicine. This plant species has become a rarity and for that reason peony was introduced into a botanical collection near Backi Petrovac (northern Serbia), where it has been maintained since 1988. Reddening of lower leaves observed on 10% of plants (5 of 50) in the collection at flowering in May 2012 gradually progressed throughout affected plants by the seed maturation stage. Five leaves from each of three reddened and three symptomless plants were sampled at the end of July 2012. Total nucleic acid was extracted separately from individual leaves (30 samples) using the CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) method (2). A nested PCR assay using universal primer pairs P1/P7, followed by R16F2n/R16R2 (4), amplified 16S rDNA fragments of 1.8 and 1.2 kb, respectively. DNA from all three reddened plants (15 samples) yielded 1.2-kb amplicons after nested PCRs. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns obtained by digestion of nested products with endonucleases AluI, TruI, HpaII, or HhaI (Thermo Scientific, Lithuania) (4) were identical to those of the STOL reference strain included for comparative purposes, indicating that symptoms were consistently associated with plant infection by ‘Ca. Phytoplasma solani’ (Stolbur) phytoplasma. The 16S rDNA amplicons from two peony plants (1.2 kb from B15 and 1.8 from B18) were sequenced (GenBank Accession No. KC960487 and KF614623, respectively). BLAST analysis revealed a 100% identity between the sequences and GenBank sequences of Stolbur phytoplasma, subgroup 16SrXII-A phytoplasma, previously detected in maize (JQ730750) in Serbia and red clover (EU814644.1) in the Czech Republic. Phytoplasma associated diseases of other species of the genus Paeonia (P. lactiflora Pall. and P. suffruticosa Andrews) have been described elsewhere. Disease symptoms on P. lactiflora from Chile were associated with the phytoplasma that belongs to the ribosomal subgroup 16SrVII-A (‘Ca. Phytoplasma fraxini’) (1). Also, Stolbur phytoplasma from the 16SrXII group was detected on P. suffruticosa plants in China, manifesting yellowing symptoms (3). To our knowledge, this is the first report of naturally occurring Stolbur phytoplasma disease of P. tenuifolia L. in Serbia. References: (1) N. Arismendi et al. Bull. Insectol. 64:S95, 2011. (2) X. Daire et al. Eur. J. Plant Pathol. 103:507, 1997. (3) Y. Gao et al. J. Phytopathol. 161:197, 2013. (4) I. M. Lee et al. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 48:1153, 1998.