| Summary: | The Botanic Garden of Tver State University is situated at the meeting place of the Volga and Tvertza rivers.
It is one of the main green spaces of Tver. The history of the Garden goes back to 1879. It was planted by the
merchant Ilya Bobrov at the former territory of Otroch monastery. After the October Revolution the Garden be-
came national property and was used as a leisure center. The main planting occurred between 1938 and 1941
but a great number of plants disappeared during World War II. Since 1949 the Botanic Garden had been recon-
structed under the supervision of M. Nevsky, a well-known Russia botanist. Since then the main objectives of the
Garden were to promote community awareness and knowledge of plants and to stress the importance of their
conservation. In 1989 the Botanic Garden has become an integral part of Tver State University.
In the course of its long history the Botanic Garden of Tver State University has developed into a unique in-
stitution valuable for science, culture and leisure. It is the only Botanic Garden in the upper reaches of the Volga
River.
The Botanic Garden has the sectors of «Dendrology», «Wild Flora», «Ornamental Flower Gardenin» and
«Herbarium». At present the Botanic Garden of Tver State University has a collection of 350 species of trees and
shrubs and 2 000 species of herbaceous plants. Plants grown in the open air are distributed according to natural
ecological zones: the Far East, Europe and North America. The Botanic Garden has a number of floristic exposi-
tions. The exposition of steppe flora, numbering 135 species, is the only one in the northern part of Russia. The
most part of the exhibited plants are collected in their natural habitats. The exposition presents species from the
northern area populations and from the isolated populations. Systematic exposition presents more then 260 spe-
cies of 42 families. This exposition gives a basic notion about morphological and taxonomic variety within a
plant family. The exposition is of great value for educational purposes. The Subtropic flora exposition demon-
strates more than 350 species of such plant families as Araceae (about 50 species), Orchidaceae (about 20 spe-
cies), Polypodiaceae (about 30 species), Palmaceae (15 species), Bromeliaceae (10 species), Agavaceae (10
species), Liliaceae s.l. (10 species). The exposition «Gatesway to Staritza» is being set up. It will present rare and
endangered vascular and bryophyte flora of various ecological zones of the upper riches of the Volga river: Sal-
via glutinosa, Laserpitium latifolium, Diplazium sibiricum, Gymnocarpium robertianum, Crepis sibirica, Gen-
tiana cruciata, etc. The exposition will also include the collection of calcephiles. The exposition «Valdai» will
immitate a unique ecological complex of Valdaiskaya highland: the flora of lichen woods and green moss pine-
Volkova O. M., Notov A. A.
Hortus botanicus, 2004, 2, P. 80—83
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woods, rare and endangered plants of latifolious woods and shadowy moist ravines and plants found in the open
slopes.
Tver Botanic Garden has six fond collections: «Rare and endangered plants of Tverskaya oblast», «Irises of
various ecological zones», «Ornamental Coniferals», «Ericaceae family», «Liliaceae family».
The fond collection of Iridaceae family species is the richest one in Russia and the countries of the CIS. It
presents 87 species, 6 tribes and 30 genera from Africa and Central America. The collection serves as a base for
introduction experiments and the study of the structural and rythmological features of Iridaceae family and its
ontogenesis. The results of the introduction experiment are published (a candidate thesis and 11 articles). The
fond collection of Iridaceae family also includes the collection of wild irises (98 species and varieties) and hybrid
varieties of gladioluses (50 varieties). The fond collection of rare and endangered plants of Tverskaya oblast
numbers 118 species of vascular plants and 4 species of bryophytes. Much attention is given to Orchidaceae fam-
ily (10 species, including Orchis militaris, Cyprepedium calceolus, Epipactis atrorubens), vascular cryptogams
(14 species of Pteropsida class, including Eusporangia ferns Botrychium lunaria, Ophioglossum vulgatum and
relict species Diplazium sibiricum, Cystopteris sudetica, Gymnocarpium robertianum). Diphasiastrum tris-
tachyum of Licopodiales order has been selected for introduction experiments. The collection presents various
ecological groups: the flora of mineratrophic spring-water marshes and the flora of the sandbanks of oligotro-
phic lakes. The Botanic Garden has begun an experiment on introduction of rare and endangered bryophytes.
The collection served as a base for the research into introduction as a means of biodiversity conservation. The
fond collection of ornamental coniferals has 80 species and forms. Special attention is paid to the species of the
following genera: Thuja, Juniperus, Picea, and Chamaecyparis. The wild representatives of these taxons are un-
der introduction experiments.
The herbarium of Tver Botanic Garden presents 4 350 representatives of the flora of Tverskaya, Smolen-
skaya, Pskovskara, Leningradskaya and Moskovskaya oblast, collected by A. Khokhryakov. Herbarium collection
of introducted plants numbers 220 species. The herbarium is being constantly enriched.
The Botanic Gardens has a rich seed fund. It is constantly replenished. The seed catalogue is published regu-
larly and sent to botanical institutions both in Russia and abroad. Tver Botanical Garden is always ready to ex-
change its seed in living material. The expositions of the Garden are extensively employed into the educational
process of Tver State University and other educational institutions of the region. Tver Botanic Garden offers
wide-ranging programmes of courses, visits, opened days, public lectures and materials and provide various ac-
tivities for school children and students. Since 1990 numerous expeditions have been organized with the aim to
replenish the seed bank and the living plant collection. The expeditions allowed to collect floristic material from
various region of Tverskaya oblast and to set up a collection of rare and endangered plants of the region. The
collected material is carefully listed. The lists of vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and basidial macromycets
have already been published.
Since 1999 Tver Botanic Garden has begun to work on the project «Introduction as a Means of Biodiversity
Conservation». It will include a wide-scale experiment on introduction of rare and endangered plant species of
Middle Russia. The project is intended to develop a scientifically valid theory of introduction and re-introduction.
Special attention will be paid to difficult-to-introduct species and those taxones which have never been studied in
culture: calciphyles, the flora of mineratrophic marshes and sandbanks of oligotrophic lakes, and rare and en-
dangered bryophytes.
Alongside with research work, Tver Botanic Garden is conducting the research on the problems of introduc-
tion of Iridaceae family and perspective of the introduction for ornamental flower gardening. The new research
on biomorphology and phenology of introducted plants has just begun. The computer database on the flora of
Tverskaya oblast is being set up. It will include the lists of rare and endangered plants of the region and informa-
tion on phenology of introducted plants. Tver Botanic Garden is currently looking for international partners
who`ll be interested in a long-term and mutually advantageous collaboration.
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