Picea glehnii (F. Schmidt) Mast. (Pinaceae) in Saint Petersburg

Abstract

Picea glehnii (F. Schmidt) Mast. (the Glehns Spruce) is a rare endangered species of the Russian Far East, a plant included into the Red Book of the Russian Federation. This species is in need of protection In situ and Ex situ. The Glehns Spruce is introduced in general cultivation in 1877. In Saint Petersburg it became known after the expedition of F. Schmidt and P.P Glehn to Sakhalin Island (in 1860-1861). In hand-written general catalogues of living collections of Peter the Great Botanical garden of the L.V. Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences it has been known since 1892. In the North-West of Russia Picea glehnii is cultivated in two introduction centers botanical gardens of L.V. Komarov Botanical Institute and Saint Petersburg State Forest Technical University. In modern collections of Botanical gardens it has been cultivated since 1955. The plant began producing cones in 1996 in the age of 41. The fully ripen germinable seeds were obtained in September of 2014, and the seedlings were germinated in 2015, for the first time in more than 120 years of arboriculture. The assessment of seeds quality revealed the presence of filled high-quality seeds but their number was rather small (10-15% from the total amount). Picea glehnii is one of the most decorative and winter-hardy spruce species, promising for city planting in Saint Petersburg and for urban floristics in the North-West of Russia.

Keywords

• Glehns Spruce
• Peter von Glehn
• arboriculture
• biological peculiarities
• Ex situ conservation of biodiversity
• Peter the Great Botanical Garden
• Picea glehnii
• Saint Petersburg