To the question of the distribution of Iridaceae in the territory of the south-east of Eastern Europe

Abstract

The article presents the results of processing funds stored in the herbarium of the Saratov State University (SARAT), belonging to the Iridaceae family. The Herbarium of SSU (SARAT) was founded in 1909; at present, significant material has been accumulated, which has not yet been fully processed. The Iridaceae family contains a number of species that are subject to protection, including at the federal level. It is quite large (more than 60 genera and 800 species distributed throughout the globe). According to the literature data on the territory of the south-east of Eastern Europe, where collections were carried out, stored in the herbarium of the Saratov State University named after N. G. Chernyshevsky (SARAT), two, possibly three genera are registered. According to the SSU herbarium (SARAT), 9 species belonging to 2 genera of the Iridaceae family were identified in the study area. As a result of the analysis, it turned out that 326 herbarium samples belonging to the studied family are stored in the SSU herbarium fund (SARAT). An analysis of the distribution of species was carried out according to two large summaries “Flora of the European part of the USSR”, and “Flora of the Lower Volga region” in accordance with the zoning adopted in them. As a result of the analysis of the collections of the SSU herbarium (SARAT) and the obtained field data, the range of the Iridaceae family was expanded, Iris arenaria, I. ruthenica, and I. sibirica are more widely distributed than previously thought. In addition, the question of the presence of I. ruthenica and I. tenuifolia in the studied region was considered based on our own field observations. There are no herbarium sheets for I. tenuifolia in the SSU herbarium (SARAT) confirming the presence of the species on the territory of the Saratov region. It is proposed to include I. ruthenica in the summary of the flora of the Saratov region and in the Red Book of the region, since this is the only locality of I. ruthenica in the region known to date.