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We studied the leaves of Begonia grandis Dryand. subsp. grandis, the northernmost and most cold-resistant representative of the predominantly tropical genus Begonia, by histochemical methods. In glandular and nonglandular trichomes as well as in the epidermal cells of B. grandis Dryand. subsp. grandis leaves, phenolic compounds, including flavonoids, as well as terpenoids and carbonyl compounds were detected. The patterns of phenolic compounds in the acetone and ethanol leaf exudates and in leaves as a whole were similar and contained oxalic, citric, and gallic acids, isoquercitrin, and orientin. Concentrations of phenolic compounds in the acetone and ethanol exudates constituted 0.10 % and 2.59 % of all phenolic compounds in the leaves, respectively. Antimicrobial effects of the aqueous ethanol extract and of the ethanol exudate against reference strains of Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans were detected at the disc con tents of 50.0 and 45.8 μg, respectively. The observed set of characteristics can be used in a targeted search for highly antimicrobial species of Begoniaceaе.

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The possibilities of adaptation of Begonia grandis Dry., the most cold-resistant representative of the genus, to conditions of the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia, more severe than in areas of natural growth in China, are studied. The experiment carried out outdoors in spring-summer-autumn period in comparison with a year-round greenhouse cultivation. It was established that the development of plants placed outside the greenhouses accelerates: the flowering time was reduced by 1.5 times and fruiting began two months earlier. The productivity indicators increased such as the number of simultaneously blooming inflorescences, the number of female flowers in separate inflorescence and the number of ripened fruits. The coefficient of vegetative propagation also increased. The number of bulbils was almost 2.5 times more, with significant increase in their size. It was shown that plants of B. grandis grown in the open air were adapted to the conditions of the forest-steppe of Western Siberia. By the time of autumn frosts, they are completing flowering, form ripen seeds and bulbils. Thus, reproduction is provided both by seed and vegetative means. However, to undergo the full life cycle of B. grandis it is necessary to keep dormant tubers in greenhouse or shelter during the frosty period.

Abstract.The results of the experiments on optimization of library room air with the help of the biological method are presented. Living tropical plants, volatile biologically active substances of which possess distinct antimicrobic properties are used for air sanitation. Their influence on change of the qualitative and quantitative microorganism composition in the air is shown. After plant placement the total number of colonies forming units (CFU) decreases by 3 times, that of staphylococcus -by 4.5 times. Air humidity increases insignificantly reaching the low limit of the comfort range for a person.

Morphological structure, features of growth and development of Begonia species of the Wageneria section (B. convolvulacea, B. glabra, B. fagifolia) under ex situ conditions were studied. The architectural model and structure of inflorescences, as well as the dynamics of shoot growth and flowering, are established and described. Recommendations for the optimal cultivation of the Wageneria section begonias in greenhouses and rooms are presented. The main factor affecting the success of cultivation and decorative effect is the air temperature; the optimal one is +20-30 °C. Begonia convolvulacea and B. glabra proved to be the most resistant to various cultivation conditions.

Geospatial investigation of distribution Salvia aethiopis L. (Lamiaceae) on the eastern limits of the range is performed using climatic modeling by MAXENT approach. Climatic conditions for the 33 local populations of the species as well as territories neighbouring to them were examined in detail, using concepts of nestle-cells and a small polygone. According to obtained results, the most suitable climatic conditions are in only two small polygons (SP) around local populations with coordinates 69.96E:42.48N and 70.03E:42.47N in central part of the area. They have 7.7 average points per a cell of 9.0 maximum. Other seven SP have average points per a cell 7.1–7.3 (quite suitable climatic conditions), all in the western part of the area, with coordinates from 66.69E to 67.69E and from 38.21N to 39.26N. High values of raw prediction are in the locations with coordinates 70.97E:42.48N (0.123; Zhualyn District in Zhambyl Region, Kazakhstan), 70.03E:42.47N (0.063; Keltemashat, Tulkibas District, Turkestan Region, Kazakhstan), 67.09E:38.34 (0.063; Yuqori Machay, Surkhandarya Region, Uzbekistan), and 69.96E:42.48N (0.054; Antonovka, Tulkibas District, Turkestan Region, Kazakhstan). These local populations of S. aethiopis should be assessed as the most likely secondary centers for further expansion of the species in the Middle Asian Region.

We present a critical revision of information about rare and endangered endemic species Salvia baldshuanica (Lamiaceae), included in the Red Books of the USSR and Tajikistan. As the nomenclatural type had been missing, we assembled information on the original herbarium material performed a proper typification of the species name. A chorological analysis of the species distribution in Middle Asia was carried out. To assess the state of the current natural populations, a topographic mapping of localities (Sanglok mountains, two isolated local populations; Sarsaryak ridge, one local population) was made. A narrow edaphic confinement of plants of this species to gypsum-bearing mountain soils has been established. A taxonomic assessment of the key morphological traits of S. baldshuanica confirmed at least the sectional level of its position within the subgenus Leonia. The species was found in nature only three times – in 1883, 1937 and 1979, which confirms its exceptional rarity and high scientific interest.