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ORNAMENTAL PLANTS OF HORTICULTURE VALUE

Selection of perennials


No two writers may give the same recommendations as to which plants should be taken from the wild. The plants described below represent only the author’s selection and are mostly perennials. Herbaceous plants predominate in the flora of the FSU consists of more than 80% of the flora (Rabotnov, 1971). No concise account of the native ornamental herbaceous plants of the FSU exists. Avrorin’s (1977) two-volume Ornamental Herbaceous Plants is valuable and it was taken into consideration, however it covers only the monocots. Descriptions of ornamental dicots can rarely be found and mostly in local publications. Botanists from all over the FSU have been studied wild plants in nature and in cultivation in different botanical gardens. The authors have select plant species and described those who merit special attention. Some of these book became classical. Nobody can learn ornamental plants from Caucasus without Serdiukov publications (1960), the Altaian ornamentals without a book written by Luchnik (1951), the Far Eastern promising plants without Skripka (1960) and Egorova (1977) publications, nobody can judge who these plants grow in cultivation in another climate without Karpisonova’s (1985) book. These and other important publications are given below as recommended reading.

Among 200 genera endemic to the FSU most are herbaceous plants, many with ornamental value, unknown in cultivation. Therefore, published plant descriptions mainly consider perennials. In contrast, there are about three thousands woody species in the flora. Many are widely distributed with some endemic to the FSU. Several workers have investigated the trees and shrubs of Russia and the references can be seen among recommended literature. The most completed work was joint project and seven-volume Trees and shrubs of the USSR (1949-1965) describes the woody species and cultivars introduced to the FSU. The editor of these publications, S. Sokolov (1965) gave the number 2,883 species of woody plants (including semi-woody shrubs) native to the FSU. Unknown to cultivation, a short list of the more horticulturally interesting trees and shrubs is given here, after perennial descriptions, and it indicates taxa that grow under extreme conditions.

Short descriptions of plants are arranged alphabetically by genera and species. The following list is of interest to scientists, plantsmen, experienced gardeners, landscape architects, and anyone interested in the introduction of new plants. All the plants included in the list have ornamental value and all have been cultivated in St. Petersburg at the Komarov Botanical Garden or elsewhere at other botanical gardens of the FSU; many have been studied by the author in the field. About 50 species from the FSU have been tested in the Miswest USA, mainly at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The seeds were collected in the Russian Far East, in the southern Siberia (Altay), in the Caucasus (Georgia). Plants belong to the different life forms and have shown different tolerance to the climate. Taprooted and rhizome plants do well in Chicago climate, among them evergreen Bergenia and deciduous Aconitum and Geranium. Some plants change their rhythm, thus Sanguisorba overwinter with green leaves, while in Siberia it is a decidouous plant. Most of the described species can be grown in USDA zone 4 regions, unless otherwise indicated. Species not mentioned by Bailey at al. (1976) in Hortus Third are noted as "new to cultivation", and many are. Geographical names follow the Times Atlas (1992), whenever possible. Latin scientific names follow Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (Czerepanov, 1995) and in most cases correspond to those in "The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening" (Huxley et al., 1992). When they differ, synonyms are given whenever possible, especially for the generic splits common in Russian literature, but unknown to gardeners in the West. Authorities for names of taxa follow Brummitt and Powell (1992), with just a few exceptions concomitantly with Latin transliterations of names (Charadze, not Kharadze) and accepted by Russians (Kom. not Komarov, Makino not Mak., Siebold not Sieb.).

Brief descriptions follow and include:

  1. Latin name of the genus.
  2. English (if any) name of the genus.
  3. Family name.
  4. Brief notes on the genus, and as it are represented in the flora of the FSU.
  5. Latin name of the species.
  6. Geographical distribution and habitat.
  7. Short description of the plant, including growth stages, propagation methods and site requirements. All measurements were taken from plants under cultivation. The following abbreviations are employed:
    V - vegetative (growing) season
    Fl - flowering season
    Fr - fruiting season
    P - propagation
    Z - most appropriate USDA hardiness zone
    New - new to cultivation

The accompanying Recommended Literature provides further information for ornamental species native to the FSU.

List of families and genera

Alliaceae
Allium
Amaryllidaceae
Galanthus
Apiaceae
Angelica, Heracleum
Araceae
Arisaema, Arum
Asteraceae
Alfredia, Anthemis, Arnica, Artemisia, Aster, Centaurea, Cicerbita, Cladochaeta, Grossheimia, Jurinea, Jurinella, Leontopodium, Leucanthemus, Petasites, Pyrethrum, Senecio
Berberidaceae (inc. Podophyllaceae)
Epimedium, Plagiorhegma
Bignoniaceae
Incarvillea, Niedzwedzkia
Boraginaceae
Brunnera, Omphalodes
Brassicaceae
Aethionema, Arabis
Campanulaceae
Adenophora, Campanula, Gadellia, Ostrowskia, Platycodon
Caryophyllaceae
Cerastium, Dianthus, Gypsophila, Lychnis
Crassulaceae
Clementsia, Hylotelephium, Rhodiola, Rosularia, Sedum, Sempervivum
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbia
Fabaceae
Astragalus, Chesneya, Lathyrus
Frankeniaceae
Frankenia
Gentianaceae
Gentiana
Geraniaceae
Geranium
Iridaceae
Crocus, Gladiolus, Iridodictyum, Iris, Juno
Lamiaceae
Meehania, Salvia, Stachys, Thymus
Liliaceae (s.l.)
Bellevalia, Colchicum, Eremurus, Erythronium, Fritillaria, Hemerocallis, Korolkowia, Lilium, Merendera, Muscari, Ornithogalum, Petilium, Pseudomuscari, Puschkinia, Rhinopetalum, Scilla, Tulipa
Morinaceae
Morina
Orchidaceae
Cypripedium
Paeoniaceae
Paeonia
Papaveraceae (incl. Fumariaceae)
Corydalis, Dicentra, Hylomecon, Papaver
Polygonaceae
Reynoutria
Plumbaginaceae
Acantholimon, Popoviolimon
Poaceae
Achnatherum, Molinia, Stipa
Primulaceae
Androsace, Cortusa, Cyclamen, Primula
Ranunculaceae
Aconitum, Anemonastrum, Anemone, Anemonoides, Aquilegia, Cimicifuga, Delphinium, Hegemone, Helleborus, Paraguilegia, Pulsatilla, Trollius
Rosaceae
Filipendula, Louiseania, Potentilla, Sanguisorba, Waldsteinia, Woronovia
Saxifragaceae
Astilbe, Bergenia, Saxifraga
Solanaceae
Physochlaina
Valerianaceae
Valeriana
Violaceae
Viola
ORNAMENTAL PLANTS FROM RUSSIA
 
 
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