SPECIES COMPOSITION ANALYSIS OF HERBACEOUS PLANTS COLLECTION OF OPEN GROUND IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN-INSTITUTE OF VOLGA STATE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
The goal of the research is to analyze the species composition of the “Decorative Herbaceous Perennials” collection of the laboratory of Introduction and Acclimatization of Herbaceous Plants of the Botanical Garden-Institute of Volga State University of Technology (Yoshkar-Ola, Mari El Republic) on the taxonomic, geographical and ecological principles. The object of the research were 159 species and natural forms of open-ground herbaceous plants of the “Decorative Herbaceous Perennials” exposition, including Astilbe, Heuchera, Dahlia, Gladiolus, Iris, Hemerocallis, Allium, Narcissus, Paeonia, Tulipa, Phlox, Lilium family groups, and thematic collections of "Ground Cover Plants" and "Less Common Decorative Perennials". Results. Among the studied families, the most numerous are the representatives of Alliaceae (21%), Crassulaceae (10%), Asteraceae (9%), Hyacinthaceae (8%), Iridaceae (8%), Ranunculaceae (6%), Rosaceae (5%) families. Most ranges of the studied species are located in the territory of the Boreal phylum (48%). Analysis of distribution of the species by ecological complexes revealed that the number of forest plants was the fewest one (10%), but the number of the species of the mountain complex was the highest one (46%). The share of steppe and azonal species is 25 and 22%, respectively. Biomorphological analysis revealed the prevalence of cryptophytes and hemicryptophytes in the collection (92%).Conclusion. A taxonomic, geographical, ecological and biomorphological analysis of the species and natural forms of open ground plants of the “Decorative Herbaceous Perennials” collection was carried out. The promising groups of plants for further introduction were defined.