There are two morphologically similar and closely related eastern species of lizard orchids of the Eurasian Himantoglossum Sprengel (1826: 694) that, according to current literature (Sundermann 1980, Buttler 1996, Kreutz 1998, Baumann et al. 2006, Delforge 2006), can easily be distinguished by anthocyanin markings on the labella (‘lips’) of their flowers, H. caprinum (Marschall von Bieberstein 1819: 602) Sprengel (1826: 694) is said to have papillate red spots on the lip, whereas H. affine (Boissier 1882: 56) Schlechter (1918: 287) lacks such marks. We consider the length of labellar papillae as another character separating them; the former has up to 0.5 mm long papillae, whereas in the latter they rarely reach 0.1 mm. Furthermore, two quantitative morphological characters consistently mentioned in the literature are said to show little if any overlap between—and therefore be diagnostic of—the two species: (i) the length of the lateral lobe of the labellum, and (ii) the length of the labellar spur.

By the method of data re-collection and re-assessment, we here test the completeness of distribution areas of the species and species aggregates of Rosa in Eastern Europe as mapped in volume 13 of Atlas Florae Europaeae (AFE), and discuss insights into the issues connected with the data. We found many new occurrences which are additions to the published maps: 1068 records of species and 570 records of species aggregates. The new occurrences are listed with references to the sources, and the updated AFE maps are provided. The greatest increase by new native occurrences was revealed for the species that are widespread or taxonomically complicated, and by new alien occurrences for the species that currently expand their secondary distribution areas. The mapping work published in 2004 is considered good, with minor omissions caused by possible oversights and incomplete sampling. The majority of new additions originated in the period after the original data collection. Nearly the same amount of new data originated from larger and smaller herbarium collections, underlining the value of small collections for chorological studies. We found that only ca 20% of new records based on herbarium specimens have been published, thus highlighting the need for data papers for publication of distributional data. The greatest increase by new records based on herbarium specimens was found for insufficiently studied territories (Belarus, central, northern and eastern parts of Russia), whereas the same level of increase for the territories with reasonably good coverage (Latvia) was achieved by observations. We

Senecio tauricus (Asteraceae) was described as an endemic species restricted to the mountain plateaus (yailas) of the Crimean Peninsula, growing only in meadow-steppe plant communities. The species status for this taxon was accepted in all relevant floras, identification manuals, and checklists; it is also listed in the current edition of the Red Data Book of Ukraine (2009) and some other lists of protected plant species. Following the results of recent molecular phylogenetic studies that justified the segregation of several genera housing taxa earlier placed in Senecio sensu lato, the new nomenclatural combination Jacobaea taurica is proposed. Basic information on morphology, ecology and distribution of J. taurica and related taxa is also briefly discussed and summarized.

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Problems of the history of cultivation of taxa and culta of the genus Hedera in Nikitsky botanical garden are analyzed. Data on the genus Hedera is revealed to be incomplete and contradictory or absent at all on the various stage of the Garden history. The most important impetus to ivy collection development was given by N.A. Hartwiss and L.I. Uleiskaya. Author shows unknown pages of the history: he revealed some specimens of ivy cultivars that were grown here up to the end of 1920-s, and several ivy cultivars were discovered as relicts of cultivation in the arboretum of Nikitsky garden and also in the former Hartwiss’ estate in Artek.

No abstract

An old British ivy cultivar ‘Cavendishii’ is revealed in the Arboretum of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens. It has persisted here as relict of cultivation since the XIX century. Stellate brushy trichomes on leaf blades evidence the plant belongs to H. helix. Morphological characters specific to the cultivar’s leaf blades in plants examined fit completely the descriptions, images and live specimen of ‘Cavendishii’ that received from Great Britain. The value of this finding is great: we get the early original version of an old cultivar that lost its certainty considerably because of huge synonymy, imposter clones and identification mistakes. Some historical and ecological factors that provided preservation of ‘Cavendishii’ in the Garden are discussed.

The monograph consists of 12 chapters with the subject matter arranged as follows: general review (Chapter 1), history of research (Chapter 2), natural history (Chapters 3, 4, and 10 pro parte), environmental history (Chapters 5-8), human impact and conservation (Chapters 9, 10 pro parte, and 11), and what I would call a 'blood relation test' (Chapter 12). In these 12 chapters, the author develops seven main dialectical themes: isolation and connection of the peninsula, sea-land interactions, impact of glacials and interglacials, forests and steppes, diverse ethnic groups in a diverse landscape, landscape transformation and conservation, and the Mediterraneanization of Crimea.Chapter 1 gives trailer-like descriptions of concepts that are developed in later chapters. The author makes the point that even up-to-date data about Crimea are rooted in historical interactions of human societies and geography and that this is what epitomizes the Crimean environmental history. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the long history of environmental study of the region from antiquity to present, using time frames such as the Linnaean and Darwinian periods, and Soviet and Post-Soviet eras. Significant global parallels are also drawn, for example, between Catherine the Great's Russian Empire and Thomas Jefferson's United States, which are helpful in the sense of needs for exploration of natural resources in newly acquired lands. In my opinion, no key figure has been omitted in this review.Chapter 3 describes the physical environment of the Crimean Peninsula from regional to global, and ancient to modern