A retrospective analysis of the collection of representatives of the genus Paeonia L. in the collection fund of the N.V. Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of Russian Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Collection of representatives of the genus Paeonia L. is one of the oldest and largest in the laboratory of ornamental plants of the N.V. Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of Russian Academy of Sciences. A total of 903 cultivars were tested between 1945 and 2025. It was revealed that in 1988 the maximum number of cultivars was recorded - 569 names. Currently (according to the autumn inventory of 2025), there are 483 cultivars and 5 natural species represented by 1,755 specimens. In addition, 49 cultivars are under initial introduction testing. In the course of the study, two sharp increases in the collection background were found by representatives of the genus Paeonia: 1945-1949 and 1961-1990. It has been revealed that since the creation of the collection, 3 cultivars have been preserved to date – ‘François Ortegat’, ‘Madame Ducel’, ‘Madame Rosa Randotier'. It was found that 106 cultivars were preserved in the collection for 60-70 years, 75 cultivars for 50-60 years, and 81 cultivars for 40-50 years. It was revealed that most of the cultivars tested in the collection of the laboratory of ornamental plants were from the USA – 536 names (59.4%). Cultivars from the USSR, France, as well as Russian cultivars registered after 1991, were represented in sufficient numbers in the collection fund in one year or another.