Botanical Garden of the Perm State University,
Russia: its history, living collections and research
Sergei Shumikhin
Perm State University, Russia
Abstact
The oldest in the Urals botanical garden of the Perm University (Perm Botanical Garden) was founded in
1922 by Professor Alexander Genkel, a prominent Russian algologist famous for his work in the Arctic
Ocean. In the past, several renowned Russian scientists, including physiologist Dmitry Sabinin and
geobotanist Vladimir Baranov were among the Directors of the Perm Botanical Garden. Now it is a large
scientific, educational and cultural centre of the Western Ural with the ex situ collections totalling over
6,500 taxa. One of the main activities of the Botanical Garden is studying and preservation of biodiversity
of the local flora. This talk presents the history of the Perm Botanical Garden, its living collections and
main research activities, including introduction and re-introduction of Red List species.
The Perm region on a Russia map
The Perm region is located in the east of the East European Plain on the western slope
of the Central Ural and Northern Urals. It is the most eastern part of Europe.
The area of the Perm region is more than 160 thousand km 2.
The maximum extent from North to South — 645 km; and from West to East — 417 km.
Climate of the Perm region — moderate and continental.
The winter is long, it last over 3 months. The snow cover can be up to 2 m deep.
Absolute minimum temperature in the winter −56 °C, max temperature in the summer
+42 °C.
The relief of the Perm region was created at formation of the Ural Mountains about 250
million years ago.
In the western part of the Perm region (about 85% of its territory), is low and flat. In the
East (about 20% of its territory) the relief has mountain character.
There are more than 29 thousand rivers with a total length over 90 thousand kilometers.
The largest river, Kama, is 1805 km long.
The dominant type of vegetation in the Perm region is forest. Forests cover 71% of the
territory of the region.
Permian Period
To the world scientific community Perm is known thanks to the Permian Period.
The Permian Period is the last period of the ancient Palaeozoic Era. It began about 299
million years ago and lasted 48 million years. The unique plant and animal remains from
the Permian were found in 1841 by the Scottish geologist Roderich Murchison near the
city of Perm.
Noting their uniqueness R. Murchison offered the name of the Perm geological
system as one of the periods of the Palaeozoic Era. Later R. Murchison found separate
fragments of this era also in other regions of the Urals and on East European Plain.
Perm State National Research University
Perm State University was founded in 1916. Today, nearly one hundred years later,
the University has the status of a National Research University and one of the leading
universities in Russia.
Perm State University covers all the disciplines of a classical University; it has more
then 11 000 students.
The Perm University has 12 faculties at which more than 1500 academic staff work. The
University has some field stations, museums. Special pride of the University - the
Museum of the Perm geological system, herbarium and the botanical garden.
The herbarium of the Perm University was organized in 1918 by P. V. Syuzev at the
departament of morphology and plant systematics. In total, there are
90 000
specimens, among them 2 type specimens. International index (Acronym) is PERM.
Historical Sketch
Creation of the Botanical Garden of the Perm State University was connected with
two names known to every citizen of Perm. These are a major industrialist, honorary
freeman of Perm, patron of art N.V.Meshkov and an outstanding scholar, professor of
botany A.G.Henkel.
A prosperous capitalist, steamship fleet owner N.V.Meshkov was known among his
contemporaries for his progressive mindset and enormous charity work. He build charity
establishments in honor of his mother E.I.Meshkova. In front of one of them he planned
to plant a big People’s Garden, which was to “serve the citizens of Perm as a pleasant
place for walks and recreation in the open air” (Meyer, 1916).
To design the garden, in 1915, N.V.Meshkov invited from Moscow a famous
landscape architect E.A.Meyer. According to the project, the garden was to cover the
area of about 3.3 hectares.
The main adornment of the garden was to be regularly shaped lawns. A big pond was
to be made at the entrance of the garden. This front part of the garden was designed in
the classical style, and the largest part of the garden area — in the landscape style.
In E.A.Meyer’s opinion, the natural style was preferable, because it “is a complete
contrast to the street network and at the same time matches the style of the main
building” (Meyer, 1916). In the corners of the garden playgrounds were to be made, in
the east part — a stony area for growing perennial Alpine plants, and behind the ward
— a glass house, the gardener’s house and a kitchen garden.
E.A.Meyer gives representatives of the local flora the central place among the plants
recommended for People’s Garden. Out of the 104 proposed species of decorative
arboreal and shrub plants, 57 species grew on the territory of Perm province. All plants
in the garden were to be marked with labels giving the botanical names of the plants in
Latin and Russian.
E.A.Meyer’s People’s Garden is an interesting introduction project. With reference to
famous in Perm botanists P.Syuzyov and P.Krylov, Meyer analyzed the possibilities for
growing plants not typical for Perm and those the northern border of which habitat lies
here. For example, this is true for some oaks. The project gives the fundamentals of the
theory of introduction (unknown then). E.Meyer writes: “... here we can only plant those
sorts, which come from areas of a climate similar to that of Perm or harsher. The origin
of the seeds plays the most important role in acclimatization experiments. The seed of
the plant to be easier acclimatized is to come from the area of natural growing, which
climate is the most similar to the one in question.”
Unfortunately, this grand project was not realized. The revolution of 1917 and the
subsequent civil war delayed the creation of the garden by 6 years.
In 1920-1921, during the years of food shortages, a part of the area of the future
garden was used by the University staff as a kitchen garden. Only in 1922, upon the
initiative of Head of Department of Plant Morphology and Taxonomy, Professor
A.G.Henkel, work was begun to create the botanical gardens of Perm University.
A vacant lot of 2 hectares was given for the Botanical Garden. It was situated in front of
the main university building. Its south-east edge was defined by the railroad. Under
A.G.Henkel’s direct supervision, dendrology breeding ground was founded, as well as
collection lots and dendrarium. The collection of wild plants and those cultivated in the
gardens was organized. As a result, the first Seeds Index was published in 1923,
offered for exchange by the Botanical Garden of Perm University. The Botanical
Gardens’ green house was situated in the attic of a university building. In January 1927,
Perm University suffered great losses because of a fire. The attic of the hothouse
building burned down. The director of Botanical Garden, Professor A.G.Henkel, was
fighting the fire to save property and plants. The cold caught in this two-day effort (the
temperature outside was 30 degrees below zero), provoked an acute attack of his
chronical disease: lungs tuberculosis. On April 9, at the age of 54, A.G.Henkel died.
A part of the funds received by the university to restore the attic destroyed by the
fire was given to the gardens for building a new green house, which is still in use by the
Botanical Garden. The directors (who succeeded one another) were D.A.Sabinin and
V.I.Baranov.
Today, the Botanical Garden of the Perm State University is a major scientific,
education and cultural center of the Western Urals. Renowned for its traditions, the
Botanical Garden possesses rich collections of wild and decorative flora.
The Botanical Garden of the Perm State University is situated in the centre of the
city. The territory of the Garden is 2 hectars.
Here are glass houses, greenhouses, collection / exposition and producing units. Our
collection of the living plants comprise over 7500 taxa.
The most interesting collection is that of the greenhouses. At present the Garden
greenhouses, covering an area of about 0.14 ha, contain collections of living plants
which comprise over 2500 species and cultivated varieties, many of them were brought
from, exotic parts of the world.
The gem among them is the oldest in the Urals 119-year old specimen of the
kanary date (Phoenix canariensis), planted by the founder of the Garden, professor
Henkel.
The major fields of the scientific and research work carried out at the Botanical
Gardens of the Perm State University
The scientific and research work of the Botanical Garden is connected with the
introduction and acclimatization of plants, selection and development of new forms and
varieties most resistant and productive in the Ural conditions. All research at Botanical
Garden
of
recent
years
has
been
conducted
in
the
following
directions:
1.
Background research for the development of collections of the typical
phytocenoses representative of various climate zones. With financial support of the
Department for Environment Protection of the Perm region on the territory of Botanical
Garden we created an ecological path with elements of model phytocenosis of the
temperate climatic zone. Fragments of the model phytocenosis, such as “Pond”, “Peat
Marsh”, “Highlands Plants”, “Far East Flora”, “Coniferous Forest”, “Red List plants”. For
the first time in the Urals, we planted more than 500 species of plants based on the
method of climatic analogs. In the glass house we created the second ecological path
with the elements of tropical and subtropical flora.
2.
Formation of a collection of protected species of plants of Russia and the
Perm region, studying their biology and reproduction characteristics with the
purpose of reintroduction into the natural habitats. We compiled a list of rare and
endangered plant species of the Perm region. It includes 64 species. Now the living
collection of the Red List plants of the Perm region totals 47 species from 22 families of
the vascolar plants, and also 56 species from 33 families from the Red List of Russia.
The collection of protected plant species will be used as a reserve for replenishing and
restoring natural populations.
3.
Since 2005 the Botanical garden participates in the International program of
botanical gardens on protection of plants (BGCI program). Using own developed
techniques we introduced more than 100 rare species of plants. We developed the
reintroduction programs for 26 rare species. In the past 3 years we planted 19 species
of plants from the Red List of the Perm region in their natural habitats. Now we are
monitoring them.
4.
Introduction and study of decorative and economically important
representatives of world flora, flora of Russia and the Urals. Collections of the
Botanical garden annualy increase by 400 to 600 species as a result of exchange of
plants and seeds. Annually Botanical garden exchanges seeds and live plants with
more than 250 botanical gardens of Russia and abroad. Annually Botanical garden
publishes Index Seminum at Sporarum in which more than 1500 names of seeds are
offered for an exchange on the website of the Perm University.
5.
Development of the schemes for the selection process meant for
decorative herbal plants of vegetative reproduction. We developed and published
the scheme of selection process of decorative geophyts for example, for the following
species complexes: Dahlia, Gladiolus, Iris and Lilium. Now 175 hybrids of Gladiolus x
hybridus are chosen from 46 progenies. In the future we plan their further study and
reproduction with the purpose of handing them over to the State Sort Testing Service.
6.
Study into the reproductive biology of the cultivated complexes of Dahlia,
Gladiolus, Iris and Lilium. We studied the antecology of the 4 species’ of the genus
Dahlia. Also we are researching the reproductive strategy, seed productivity of the
cultivated Dahlia, species of Gladiolus, Iris and Lilium.
7.
Optimization of methods of cloning, including in vitro, decorative herbal,
arboreal and shrub plants. We study microcloning of several Dahlia, African violet and
other species. We modified the methods of grafting for arboreal and shrub plants which
difficult ryzogenesis.. We optimized a method of vegetative reproduction of lilacs in vivo
and in vitro.
The main collections of the Botanical garden:
The outdoors collections comprise over 4700 taxa. There are the following main
expositions: Ephemeroids, Alpine plants, Bog, Shadow garden, Far East flora, Red
List plants.
The collections of the glass houses are grouped according to climatic zones. There
are following main expositions: “Permian Period”: reconstruction, Rainforests of the
Old and New Worlds, Dry tropics of the Old and New Worlds, Subtropics. Also,
there are thematic collections of a greenhouse: Epiphytic, Carnivorous plants,
Cactae and other succulents.
Highly qualified specialists work in the Botanical garden.