CURRANTS (RIBES L., GROSSULARIACEAE) IN THE PETER THE GREAT BOTANICAL GARDEN

Abstract

The Peter the Great Botanical Garden of the V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute (BIN), Russian Academy of Sciences, is one of the leading centers of arboriculture in the North-Western Russia. A majority of representatives of the genus Ribes L. are winter-hardy and very ornamental. There are 16 species and 2 forms in the Garden's modern collection. All taxa, except R. biebersteinii Berl. ex DC., produce flowers and fruits. There are certain samples of considerable age, up to 100 years old. In recent years, in the early 21st century, the collection has continued to be replenished with new species and samples. There are a number of species and forms promising for urban landscaping in St. Petersburg and other cities of the North-Western Russia, and for wider distribution outside botanic gardens: Ribes diacantha Pall., R. sachalinense (Fr. Schmidt) Nakai, R. sanguineum Pursh, etc. Many species are valuable berry- producing shrubs, honey-yielding, medicinal and ornamental plants. They are suitable for urban landscape architecture, city parks, or afforestation. Besides, they are of special interest for planting in stony plots and rocky gardens. There are considerable reserves to replenish the collection of the Peter the Great Botanical Garden both in the contexts of repeated (R. fasciculatum Siebold et Zucc.) or primary introduction of Ribes taxa (R. menziesii Pursh, R. ambiguum Maxim. etc.). There are new species in the arboreal nursery of the Botanic Garden, such as R. atropurpureum C.A. Mey., which may occupy their permanent place in the Garden in the coming years. The present article is based on the data of the 2017 inventory, and has been prepared within the framework of the forthcoming publication Annotated Catalogue of the Outdoor Collection of Living Plants at the Peter the Great Botanical Garden.

Keywords

• ribes
• grossulariaceae
• currant
• arboriculture
• st. petersburg
• botanical garden