Biological peculiarities of wintergreen polycarpic species in the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia

In the collection of wild ornamental species of the Central Siberian Botanical Garden SB RAS (Novosibirsk) due to long-term supervisions some rhythmological groups and phenorhythmotypes were revealed. There were discussed the features of seasonal development and reproductive capacity of 38 species - semishrubs and grassy perennial plants, related to long-vegetative rhythmological group and spring-summer-wintergreen phenorhythmotype. Seasonal development of wintergreen species in the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia was characterized by the following features: the longest vegetation period, intensive development in the first half of vegetative period, late-spring or early-summer terms of the flowering beginning. Duration of wintergreen species vegetation is determined by a period from loss snow-cover in spring and its formation in autumn. On average, the data for years research, duration of this period in Novosibirsk was 201±1 days. Duration of the period, preceding flowering, was equal to 40±1 days. While comparing different phenorhythmotypes high intensity of seasonal development of wintergreen species was testified. Late-spring or early-summer species, efflorescing from May, 16 for June, 25 prevailed in the spectrum of flowering of this phenorhythmotype. They also differed in the most long period of flowering.Most of introduced wintergreen species produced filled seeds - 26 species (68,4%), including 12 species with self-seeding. A capacity for vegetative reproduction, conditioned by biomorphological features, was expressed at various degree. Vegetative mobile species - long-rhizomatous, stoloniferous and ground-covering were capable of vegetative dispersion and self-renewal on cultivated sites. The investigated species of wintergreen phenorhythmotype were easy to cultivate. However, 20 species of different life forms were subject to damping out under snow in winter period. It was revealed that wintergreen species present the most perspective group of ornamental perennial plants for cultivation: long vegetation and resistance to temperature fluctuations provide the high decorative effect during all vegetative period.

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