I would like to introduce you to another early flowering plant. Not everyone knows it. This forest grass is too inconspicuous. However, Ozhika pilosa is a true early flowering plant, a primrose. After all, it blooms at the very beginning of spring, as soon as the snow melts. Simultaneously with lungwort, corydalis, coltsfoot.

We will most likely pass by the hairy beetle without noticing. This grass is small, no higher than ten to fifteen centimeters. And there are no bright, attention-grabbing flowers. He doesn't need them. After all, the plant is pollinated by the wind.

Ozhika hairy usually grows in coniferous forests - pine and spruce forests, often on the edges. Here are my photos of the hairy beetle taken at the edge of a pine forest. The soils here are poor, with increased acidity. But they suit the crowd - there are fewer competitors.

This perennial forest plant with a short rhizome grows in the forests of Europe, European Russia, and southern Siberia.

Most of all, the hairy gooseberry resembles some kind of cereal. Or, rather, on sedge. But it is neither one nor the other. Belongs to the rush family.

But the similarity between the hairy plant and grasses and sedges lies only in the fact that its leaves are narrow and long. However, the leaf of the ozhika is also lanceolate - at the base it is very narrow, then it widens a little, and at the end it is pointed.

But the most important difference between the leaves of Ozhika pilosa gave the plant its specific name. Looking closely, we will see that at the base the leaf is densely braided with long white hairs. The same, but sparser, hairs always grow along the edge of the leaf.

In all plants that have leaves with hairs, this “hairiness” serves approximately the same purpose: to protect the leaf from the cold and reduce water evaporation. Cold water is poorly absorbed by the roots. If it evaporates too much, the plant will dry out. Our ozhika is no exception.

It overwinters under snow with green leaves. And in early spring, when the snow melts, you find yourself in rather harsh conditions. At this time and during the day, temperatures are often low. And at night frosts are generally possible, which could destroy the hedgehog. If only these hairs didn't help!

And they help a lot. After all, already in April the zhika begins to bloom. It depends on you, but to me the inflorescence of Ozhika pilosa most resembles a small frozen “fireworks”. In fact, flower stalks “scatter” from one point at the top of the stem, and at the end of each a small star blooms - a flower.

At the end of May - beginning of June, the fruits of Ozhika pilosa are already ripening - greenish oval boxes the size of a grain of millet. Each contains three seeds. When the fruit is opened, the seeds will simply spill out onto the ground. And then the ants find them and take them away. After all, every seed has a treat for the ants - a fleshy, juicy appendage.

The fact that the appendage is eaten by ants will not affect the germination of the seed. And the seeds from the anthill will be thrown out by its clean owners, like garbage. And they will sprout. Or they will lie for years and wait for favorable conditions for germination. Ozhika seeds do not lose their germination capacity for many years.

Noble liverwort

Copper, blue snowdrop, noble liverwort, Hepatica nobilis. One of the most beautiful forest primroses. The liverwort prefers to grow in the forest, and is more often found in shady spruce forests than in deciduous forests. The scientific Russian name is just a translation of the international Latin one. In turn, Hepatica is named for its leaves - they are heart-shaped at the base, three-lobed, and shaped like... a human liver. This fact was interpreted by medieval healers as a sign that the plant could be used to treat liver diseases! And they treated it... Modern studies do not confirm the medicinal value of the plant. Local names, in my opinion, are both more pleasant and more accurate. Copse - because he prefers to live in the forest. Blue snowdrop - why not call this a plant that blooms as soon as the snow melts?

Liverwort is a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant of the Ranunculaceae family. A powerful rhizome develops in the soil, from which numerous thin roots emerge, and leaves and flowering shoots grow from the buds. Basal foxes on long petioles, dark green, leathery. The plant retains them not only all summer, but also all winter under the snow, remaining green (albeit faded). And only after flowering the old leaves die off and the plant appears new ones. Young leaves have petioles and undersides covered with numerous dense hairs, which help retain heat during spring frosts.

Having settled in a new place, the liverwort does not bloom for several years, but only throws out leaves. And only in the sixth year the plant blooms. The flowers are solitary, sitting on pubescent peduncles. They are very small in size. And the whole plant is small - from 5 to 15 cm. But in a gloomy spruce forest, the flowers may seem quite bright. It would seem that the plant has both a corolla of blue petals and a cup of green sepals. In fact, the perianth of the coppice liverwort is simple and consists of colored leaves. Usually there are no more than ten. The tepals are most often blue, sometimes pinkish and very rarely white. And what can be mistaken for a cup are the top three leaves. They grow on a stem near the flower itself and form a so-called veil. These leaves are greatly reduced and really resemble sepals. However, their origin is completely different, and they develop precisely as stem leaves, and not part of a flower.

Just don’t tear up the copse for a bouquet! Firstly, it is pointless - soon the flower will wither. Secondly, these collections have already led to the fact that the liverwort has become a very rare plant in the forest! So rare that it is listed in the Red Books of a number of European countries. And in many regions of Russia it has been declared a rare protected plant.

Siberian Scilla

(lat. Scilla siberica) is a perennial herbaceous bulbous plant, ephemeroid, species of the Scilla genus. Previously, this genus was classified as a member of the Liliaceae or Hyacinthaceae families; according to modern ideas, this genus belongs to the Asparagaceae family

The species range covers Eastern Europe(including the European part of Russia), the Caucasus, Western Asia (Turkey, northern Iraq, northwestern Iran). As a naturalized plant, it is found in many other regions of the world, including North America. It is found mostly in deciduous forests, especially on the edges and in thickets of bushes.

Perennial herbaceous bulbous plant. It develops as an ephemeroid: the growing season lasts from the moment the snow melts until May; after the fruits ripen, the plants wither.

The leaves are broad-linear, basal, in number from two to four; at the tip they are pulled together into a cap: they fully develop before flowering begins. There are several flowering shoots, their height ranges from 10 to 20 cm, each bearing several flowers.

The flowers are actinomorphic, with a simple corolla-shaped perianth with six free leaflets, the color of which can range from bright blue to violet-blue. Flowering time is March-April. Fruiting time is May. The fruit is a capsule.

Chistyak spring

Common names: butterflower, early lettuce, poisonous leaf, toadweed, millet, pshinka, hare's lettuce, hare's lettuce, chimney, chicken-leaf.
Pharmacy name: chistyak herb - Ranunculi ficariae herba.
This is one of the most noticeable spring plants. In early spring, leaves of a basal rosette develop from fleshy, cone-shaped tubers.

The spring clear belongs to the ranunculaceae family. This is a perennial plant that prefers moist soils, usually growing near streams, rivers, puddles, ditches, in damp meadows and in damp deciduous forests.

Active ingredients. Caustic substances characteristic of buttercups - protoanemonin and, accordingly, anemonin - are contained in small quantities in the chistyak. But it contains vitamin C and saponins.

Healing action and application. Due to the fact that chistyak is one of the first spring plants containing vitamin C, it has long been used as a so-called blood-purifying spring salad.

Use in folk medicine. In spring, fresh chistyaka grass is used in folk medicine as a salad to replenish vitamin C deficiency, or the juice is squeezed out of it, which is then mixed with milk and taken with spoons. In folk medicine, chistyak also plays an important role as an independent medicine during courses of treatment to cleanse the blood. Tea from the dried plant is given against skin diseases.

Side effects. Since the fresh plant contains some of the caustic substances characteristic of buttercups, avoid overdose, otherwise irritation of the stomach, intestines and kidneys may occur. Chistyak tea is less dangerous because when dried, the caustic substances are destroyed and become harmless.

Ephemera and ephemeroids are plants with a short period of above-ground development and a long period of dormancy; these are mainly spring plants that manage to bloom, produce seeds and finish the growing season in 2-3 months. Ephemerals are annuals, ephemeroids are bulbous or rhizomatous perennials. Of the ephemerals I can only name spring grains, ephemeroids - all sorts of anemones, woodlands, snowdrops, goose onions, crocuses, etc.

Ephemera include herbaceous annual plants that have a short growing season. The full cycle of their life activity occurs in a very short period of time at high environmental humidity - from 2 weeks to six months. These plants make up the majority of the vegetation cover of areas with arid climates - deserts, semi-deserts and steppes (up to 60% of species). The vegetation of the African continent consists of 90% ephemerals.
Basically, ephemerals develop in the autumn-winter-spring period, more often in spring or autumn. These plants die completely in dry weather in the summer. The development of winter ephemerals begins in autumn. Meteorological conditions determine the duration of germination, the lifespan of plants, and their size. A characteristic feature of ephemerals is their unique adaptability to fluctuations in environmental conditions.
Most ephemerals have small above-ground and underground parts. Classic Features These plants have no xerophytes. The stems of these plants are not branched, the leaves are small, and the root system is poorly developed. Small leaves are ephemeral plants of low density; photosynthesis proceeds intensively, due to which assimilates quickly accumulate in the leaves during a short wet period. An interesting example is that of some species of angiosperms and desert ferns of South Africa, which dry out to an air-dry substance during drought and remain in this form for up to five years. And when precipitation falls, they are able to completely restore their vital functions.
Ephemeral seeds are heat-resistant and drought-resistant, their dormant period corresponds to the summer season. Seeds of spring species germinate in spring, and winter species - in autumn.
Ephemerals include many representatives of the families of cruciferous plants, grasses, buttercups, legumes, etc. Examples of ephemerals found in Russia are spring stonefly, crescent hornwort, oak grouse, northern alyssum, desert alyssum, African malcolmia.
In nature there are plants classified by botanists as ephemeroids. They are characterized by the fact that only above-ground shoots die off during the dry period.
According to some classifications, ephemerals and ephemeroids are classified as mesophytes, according to others - to the group of xerophytes. But more often, botanists consider them as a separate group of plants.

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Distributed in a strip of dark coniferous forests from the Arctic part of Europe to Western Sayan, Japan. An isolated area of ​​the range is located on the southern coast of Lake Baikal and the northern foothills and slopes of the range. Khamar-Daban.

Grows in dark coniferous and mixed forests, along river valleys. It rises to the highlands, where it lives in subalpine and nival meadows. It develops very quickly, blooms early, immediately after the snow melts, in late April - early May. The seeds ripen in the first ten days of June. It reproduces by seeds, germinates at the end of August and overwinters, sprouting in the spring of next year.

SEM. VIOLET –YIOLACEAE

1.5 Single-flowered violet.

A perennial herbaceous plant from 2 to 30 cm in height, the leaves are heart-shaped, the upper ones are ovate and long-pointed. The flowers are bright yellow, with dark veins, large, petals are about 20 mm long.

Distributed in the forest zone and areas of low-mountain taiga, along the banks of rivers and streams. Blooms in April – May.

SEM. PRIMICOLORS –PRIMULACEAE

1.6. Primrose cupnocup

A perennial herbaceous plant with a thick rhizome bearing numerous root lobes and up to 10 or more rosettes of leaves. Some or all of the rosettes bear leafless peduncles. The number of leaves in the rosette, including the small ones that die off early, is 8-13. True leaves reach full development during the fruiting period, together with petioles 22-36 cm long. and 5-9 cm wide. Their plates are oblong-ovate, bare above, with very short hairs below, finely toothed along the edge, sharply narrowed at the base into a winged petiole equal in length. Peduncles are 23-38 cm long, reaching 28-47 cm when fruiting, with a simple umbrella of 6-20 flowers inclined to one side. Pedicels of different lengths. Sometimes a daughter umbrella is developed on one of them. The flowers are bright yellow, 19.5-25 mm long, with a long tube and a concave cup-shaped limb. Its lobes are notched at the apex, with an orange spot in the throat. The calyx is wide (6.5-8.5 mm), the corolla tube occupies only its central part. The capsule is almost half as long as the calyx, oval, widened in the upper part, opening with denticles at the apex.

It blooms in May-June, the seeds ripen at different times from late July to mid-August.

SEM. Borage -BORAGINACEAE

1.7. Lungwort the softest (lungwort, lungwort)

They form dense, slowly growing bushes 45-55 cm high. One of the most attractive forest plants, lungwort is especially beautiful in early spring, when in late April - early May, peduncles covered with numerous bluish-purple inflorescences rise above a rosette of large (up to 50 cm in length) silvery-green pubescent leaves. Flowering is abundant, long-lasting (from late April to mid-June), and secondary flowering is often observed in August - September. Not only flowers give the plant a decorative appearance, but also the strict shape of a dense bush and numerous beautiful leaves. New leaves appear throughout the season. In August, the seeds ripen (30-70 seeds per shoot), which ensure abundant self-seeding.

Young shoots and leaves of lungwort are used to prepare salads, soups, and purees.

In folk medicine, it has long been used as an emollient and expectorant for catarrh of the respiratory tract, bronchitis, and asthma. From ancient times, decoctions of this herb were used to treat scrofula and “blockages” in the throat. We also tried to use it against consumption (tuberculosis). This is where its popular name “pulmonary” comes from.

SEM. COMPOSITES, ASTER –ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE)

1.8. Common coltsfoot

Perennial with long branched horizontal rhizome. Generative shoots are pubescent, 10-25 cm tall, not branched, covered with small scale-like appressed ovate-lanceolate sharp leaves. Shortened leaves vegetative shoots(appear after flowering) long-petiolate, rounded-heart-shaped, 10-25 cm in diameter, angular, unequally toothed, leathery, initially pubescent on both sides, later glabrous on top, soft-white-tomentose below. The baskets are single, 2-2.5 cm in diameter, drooping before and after flowering. The flowers are golden yellow; marginal – narrow-tongued, pistillate; the median ones are tubular, bisexual, but functioning as stamens. The achenes are oblong, ribbed, slightly 4-sided, 3-4 mm long, the pappus is 4-5 times longer than the achenes. It blooms in April-May (inflorescences form in the buds in August-October of the previous year), the fruits ripen in May-June. Propagated vegetatively and by seeds.

It grows throughout almost the entire European part, in the Caucasus, Siberia, in the mountains of Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Usually on the slopes of ravines, cliffs, railway embankments, along the banks of rivers, streams, along ditches, on sandy and clay deposits, on unturfed, washed away soils. Light-loving, moisture-loving.

C.E.M.. LILILY –LILIACEAE

1.9. Grouse small

Listed in the Red Book of the Kemerovo Region.

The bulb is spherical, white, consists of 2 scales, covered with a white membranous shell. The stem is 25-50 cm tall, smooth. Leaves number 3-7, alternate, 2-5 mm wide. The pedicel is sometimes longer than the bract. Drooping flower. The tepals are oblong-elliptical, dark purple on the outside, greenish on the inside, slightly pointed or obtuse, the outer ones are narrower. The capsule is oblong-triangular.
Distributed in the steppe zone of the European part, Western Siberia and Kazakhstan. It grows in meadows, in rich, usually well-moistened, sometimes saline soils. Bulbous ephemeroid. In nature, reproduction is exclusively by seed. Blooms in May-June.

1.10. Siberian Kandyk

Listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.

Perennial herbaceous plant from 10 to 20 cm high. The bulb is cylindrical, narrowed towards the ends. The leaves are broadly lanceolate, petiolate, entire, matte, with purple spots. The flowers are lilac, single, six-petalled. Blooms in May. The fruit is an oblong leaflet. Ripens in August. Widely distributed in the southern half of the forest zone, in the mountain forest and subalpine zones. It grows in dark coniferous and mixed forests, along forest edges, and in subalpine meadows, creating a colorful landscape in spring.

1.11. Goose onion grainy.

A perennial ephemeroid bulbous plant with yellow flowers 8 to 30 cm high. The tepals are greenish on the outside. The fruit is a spherical capsule. Blooms early in spring.

It is found in the European part of Russia, the Caucasus, Siberia, the Far East, Belarus, and Ukraine.

Grows in bushes, forest clearings, steppes, ravines, slopes, especially on humus soil.

SEM. Buttercup

1.12. Spring lumbago

Bronze" href="/text/category/bronza/" rel="bookmark">bronze-golden hairs. Peduncles are short, greatly elongated with fruits; flowers droop at the beginning, later erect, bell-shaped; perianth simple, six-leaved, with leaflets 1 , 5-3.2 cm long, narrowly ovate, at first converging, later spreading, white inside, pale purple, pinkish or bluish on the outside and with the same pubescence as on the tepals, numerous, greenish-yellow, half as long as the tepals; It blooms in May - June. The fruits are oblong, with an awn 4 cm long, covered, like the fruits themselves, with yellowish hairs 3-5 mm long.

2. Conclusion

I got acquainted with some plants, with their characteristic features - both in appearance and in development. Some of the representatives of the forest flora are familiar to us, while others we encountered for the first time. World forest plants rich and diverse, the plant population of the forest is very numerous. I did not talk about all the inhabitants of the forest, but only about the primroses, the most remarkable.

Spring is a time when a lot changes in the forest. The arrival of heat does real miracles, as if it sets in motion a huge and complex mechanism of the forest plant community. Everything comes to life, everything transforms, everything begins to develop. Each plant, one way or another, responds to the arrival of spring and awakens to life. But in different plants this happens at different times - in some earlier, in others later. And the spring changes themselves are different; they manifest themselves differently in each plant. There is a lot of variety here.

Based on the data obtained and using a scale of visual observations, I can come to the following conclusion: the deciduous forest I studied, located in close proximity to the village and subject to the greatest recreational load, is characterized as a still slightly disturbed phytocenosis.

In addition, as visual material for lessons in biology, ecology and natural history, I compiled herbariums of flowering forest plants, and also created brochures and donated them to the school library.

In the future, I plan to study in more detail the species composition and life state of not only herbaceous plants, but also trees.

Bibliography

1. Plant life./ Ed. . M.: Education, 1981.

2. Illustrated guide to medicinal plants of Siberia. – Kemerovo: FGUIPP “Kuzbass”, 2004.

3. Kovalev with plants. M.: Soviet sport, 1993.

4. Red Book of the Kemerovo Region. Rare and endangered plant species - Kemerovo: Kemerovo Book Publishing House, 2000.

6. Plant noses. – M.: Eksmo Publishing House, 2004.

7. Key to plants of the Kemerovo region./ Ed. and others. Novosibirsk: Publishing House SB RAS, 2001.

8. Petrov in the life of the forest. – M.: Nauka, 1981.

Observing the life of nature, you see how the Creator of life, through trial and error, gropes and paves the way to perfection. He does not have a clear plan, and therefore all the conversations of people who do not like to take responsibility for their actions about the destiny of existence fall apart if one walks along the steps of development, slowly and in a state of vigilance. Let's observe plants that are called “ephemera” and “ephemeroids”.

Lyrical digression about the “destiny of existence”

The English theoretical physicist, Stephen William Hawking, our contemporary, made a funny conclusion about the predestination of life. Observing the behavior of people who claim that everything in this world has long been predetermined and nothing can be changed, he noticed that when they are about to cross the road, they will definitely look both ways.

Ephemera

The word “ephemera” was coined by the ancient Greeks, observing the transience of life. The meaning of the word in Russian can be explained as “living a short period.” It is literally translated as “daily” or “per day”, which is symbolic, but does not correspond to reality.

Ephemeral plants, of course, live for more than one day, but their full life cycle is very short, estimated at several weeks. In such a period of time, they manage to develop, decorate the world with flowers, bear fruit for procreation, and die with a clear conscience.

Such short life forced to make do with plants small sizes, growing in very unfavorable places on our planet, for example, in deserts, where their growing season coincides with the wet period of autumn or spring.

We also find ephemera. For example, Krupka oak, growing in most of our country. In June, its pale yellow flowers fade, seeds form, and all parts of the plant die. The grass and seeds of oak groats are used in traditional medicine to treat many diseases, and the Chinese use an infusion of the herb to treat leukemia.

Ephemeroids

Ephemeroids are a little higher on the evolutionary ladder. They also have a very short growing season, but after feeding their fruits, the plant does not die completely. Only its above-ground parts die off, and rhizomes, bulbs, and root crops remain underground, which are storehouses of nutrients accumulated by the plant in order to wait for suitable conditions to again reveal its leaves, flowers and fruits to the world.

Such plants, unlike annual ephemerals, although they do not please the gardener for a very long period, are perennial, saving human time and energy.

It’s amazing how all plants find a place in the soil of the same area. I have been going to the dacha for more than ten years, never ceasing to be surprised and admire the change of scenery outside the car window. In April and early May, the roadsides and clearings and meadows flickering between pines, spruces, birches are painted with white snowdrops, yellow primroses, and lilac candy. In some places the purple-blue caps of the lungwort are visible.

Later, the picture will become bright orange from the swimsuit, which in Siberia we call “lights”. Small bright orange “roses” really look like bright lights flashing against the background of greenery.

Then there will be blue bells, white and yellow caps of cornflowers and daisies, tall bright purple brushes of Ivan-tea will rise like a wall, and many more different flowers will take over the summer baton from each other, relying on their own strength and the help of the nature around them.

Representatives of ephemeroids

Among perennial ephemeroids many of our old decorative friends. Some of them love to show their beauty in early spring (yellow onion, anemone, kandyki, crocuses, multi-colored tulips), others keep company with the gold of autumn (colchicum).

No matter what time of year they appear, we are always delighted by their beauty, resilience and vitality.

Summary

How often do we put off simple possible pleasures, citing lack of time, putting it off “for tomorrow.” Ephemera and ephemeroids give us an example that we shouldn’t do this. Life is so fleeting. Perhaps tomorrow there will be time, but there will be no strength, and the day after tomorrow morning will not come for some at all.

Enjoy every second given by fate. Live “here and now”, as all nature lives on our wonderful planet!

At your request, I am posting here a version of my speech at a meeting of the AZALIA Flower Lovers Club in Krymsk.
Ephemeroids- perennial herbaceous plants with a very short growing season, which occurs at the very favorable period. After this, the life cycle of ephemeral plants begins to stop, and the above-ground part of the plants begins to gradually die off. Due to the nutrients accumulated in the underground part of the ephemeroids, their life is resumed when favorable conditions occur.
Ephemeroids include tuberous, rhizomatous and bulbous. Representatives of ephemeroids are the well-known snowdrops, lumbago (sleep-grass), scillas, scylla, tulips, hyacinths, spring-flowering crocuses, anemones, daffodils, muscari, chionodox, ranunculus, corydalis, hazel grouse, eremurus, as well as such indoor plants as amaryllis, clivia.
In early spring ephemeroids, sprouts and buds of renewal buds are still formed under the snow. During flowering, ephemeroids form a bright and variegated carpet of flowers, clearly visible to pollinating insects. After the fruits have ripened and the seeds have dropped, in early June, with a change in conditions (little water or light), the above-ground organs of the ephemeroids die off. Underground organs with renewal buds and starch reserves are in a state of deep dormancy for about ten months until next spring.
Representatives of autumn ephemeroids are autumn-blooming crocuses and colchicum, or colchicum. They bloom in late autumn, when the leaves from the trees have already fallen off and do not block the light. For an active life, ephemeroids only need a short daylight time in the forest.
All ephemeroids are conditionally divided into groups:
- The first group includes ephemeroids, in which the buds of growth and renewal are located above the soil level;
- The second group includes ephemeroids, in which the buds of growth and renewal are at soil level and are covered with snow in winter;
- The third group includes ephemeroids, in which the buds of growth and renewal are located very deep in the soil. Even with insufficient snow cover and partial freezing of the root part, ephemeroids from this group are quickly restored. Almost all spring bulbous plants belong to this group of ephemeroids.
Differing in ecological, physiological and biological characteristics, and growing season, early spring ephemeroids form a seasonal synusia in the grass cover of deciduous forests. Despite short terms vegetation, ephemeroids play a significant role in the creation of the biological mass of the grass cover and in the general circulation of substances in deciduous forests. After the death and decomposition of the above-ground parts, ephemeroids add a significant amount of nutrients (especially potassium and nitrogen) to the soil.
The presence of early spring ephemeroids contributes to a more uniform supply of forest plants with elements of mineral nutrition, especially easily mobile compounds, which are easily washed away by melt water in the spring. Ephemeroids again include them in the general cycle of substances of the forest community.
The entire message is accompanied by a display of the corresponding slides. Thank you for your interest and attention.

Introduction

Currently, the issue of preserving biodiversity in our country and in the world as a whole is becoming more and more pressing. Anthropogenic impact and natural disasters lead to large environmental losses. And first of all, this affects the change in the species composition of plant communities, the disappearance rare plants. In this course work we will talk about the biological features and significance of ephemera and ephemeroids, as well as those ephemeroids that have been subject to anthropogenic impact and are now under protection. Ephemera and ephemeroids are plants whose growing season is 1.5-2 months.

To date, a small number of works have been devoted to the study of Belarusian ephemera, which in turn allows us to conclude that they have not been fully considered. One of the main reasons for choosing this topic is that most ephemera and some ephemeroids are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus and are protected. To preserve these species, it is necessary to study their biological characteristics, as well as the factors leading to their extinction.

The relevance of the topic of this course work also lies in the fact that the information presented in it and the results obtained in the future can be used in further study of the flora of a particular region of our country or the flora of Belarus in general, as well as for the development of measures aimed at protecting specific populations of endangered plant species.

Ephemera and ephemeroids, being early spring flowers, play an important role in the composition of plant communities. By depositing ash elements in the form of organic substances in their wintering shoots, they help increase soil fertility.

Studying the features of the life activity of ephemerals and ephemeroids will allow us to develop a system of measures to protect them in natural habitats, and knowing biological significance ephemera, it will be possible to use them more effectively beneficial features for a person.

Thus, object of our study are the ephemera and ephemeroids of the Mozyr Ravines landscape reserve.

Subject research - species diversity of ephemerals and ephemeroids.

Purpose of work: study biological features ephemera and ephemeroids of the Mozyr Ravines landscape reserve; obtaining information about the habitats of these species in the reserve.

Research objectives:

1. To study the species composition of ephemerals and ephemeroids on the territory of the Mozyr Ravines landscape reserve.

2. Study the features of the development cycle of ephemeroids using the example of Haller's corydalis.

3. Identify rare and endangered species of ephemerals and ephemeroids in the territory of the Mozyr Ravines landscape reserve.

Literature review

General characteristics of ephemera and ephemeroids

Currently, a group of early flowering plants - ephemerals and ephemeroids - is of great interest for study.

Ephemera - annuals herbaceous plants, the development cycle of which is completed in a short time (from 2-6 weeks to 2 months) before the onset of a drier period. They usually grow in deserts and steppes. Basically, ephemerals develop in the autumn-winter-spring period, more often in spring or autumn. These plants die completely in dry weather in the summer. The development of winter ephemerals begins in autumn. The duration of germination, the life span of plants, and their size are determined by meteorological conditions. Thus, due to heavy rainfall, ephemerals can reach a height of 25-30 cm, and some cruciferous plants - 50 cm. A characteristic feature of ephemerals is their unique adaptability to fluctuations in environmental conditions.

According to some classifications, ephemerals and ephemeroids are classified as mesophytes, according to others - to the group of xerophytes. But more often botanists consider them as a separate group of plants.

Typical representatives are spring speedwell (Veronika verna), spring stonefly (Erophila verna).

It should be noted that among the ephemera there are also weeds. During one growing season, they are capable of producing several generations and heavily weeding fields and crops.

A typical representative of this group is the average chickweed (Snellaria media), which has a very weak branched stem lying on the ground or slightly rising. Chickweed is a malicious weed that infests all fields, but it causes particular harm to row crops and vegetable crops. The growing season of this plant is about 40 days. Average chickweed produces 15-25 thousand seeds, which last for 5-8 years in the soil. Seeds germinate well from a depth of up to 3 cm. When the soil is loosened and precipitation falls, chickweed seedlings appear throughout the summer.

Some ephemera are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus, the collection of which is prohibited and punishable by penalties.

Ephemeroids are perennial herbaceous plants, which are characterized by autumn-winter-spring vegetation. Aboveground shoots die off during the summer period, and the underground part remains in the form of bulbs, tubers, and rhizomes. These include spring guillemot (Ficaria verna), goose lutea (Gagea lutea), forest lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), Corydalis (Corydalis Halleri), spring bud (Orobus vernus).

Not everywhere the climate is conducive long flowering plants. In some regions it is so unsuitable that it lasts only a couple of months, or even weeks. In such places, ephemerals and ephemeroids often grow. We'll talk about them in more detail.

Ephemera - what are they?

Full usually takes a very long time. Only seeds can break through the ground for several months, not to mention further development. There are plants that live for a year or two, but oak and eucalyptus die after thousands of years.

There are species that simply don’t have that much time. These are ephemera. They are typically found in areas with harsh conditions where access to light or nutrients is severely limited for most of the year. To survive in such an environment you need to try. Some plants use thorns, others are small, and others have simply learned to do everything very quickly.

Ephemera are annual herbaceous plants. In one short (from two weeks to two months) season, they manage to grow to the state of an adult plant, bloom, bear fruit and die. And the seeds that fall to the ground will germinate next year, completely repeating the experience of the “parents”.

Typical ephemera are African malcolmia, oak grouse, spring stonefly, some poppies, woodlice, Tal's rhizome, anthurus, etc. Most of them have small roots and unbranched stems. The leaves are small and not very dense, so that photosynthesis proceeds as intensely and quickly as possible.

Where do they meet?

Ephemera usually represent vegetation of deserts, semi-deserts and steppes. In such places the weather is favorable only for short periods. In deserts they occur during precipitation. Then rivers appear on lifeless lands, and their valleys are filled with flowers and herbs. As soon as the hot sun dries up the rivers, the plants will disappear.

Ephemera make up 80-90% of all vegetation in Africa. They are found on the Arabian Peninsula, in Kazakhstan, in the steppes of Ukraine, in Russia and many other countries of the world.

They do not always inhabit deserts and steppes. Selected species They are also common in deciduous forests, such as oak forests. Low-growing plants are not very comfortable in them due to the deficiency sunlight. Ephemera usually appear here in the spring, when the trees have not yet acquired leaves. They develop intensively and complete their life cycle by the time lush crowns will block their access to the sun.

Ephemeroids

The vegetation of deserts and other places with difficult climates is also represented by ephemeroids. Unlike ephemerals, they live for several years and in unfavorable periods they only stop their growth.

Perennial ephemerals can be found growing side by side with ephemeral plants. In addition, they are widespread in meadows, mixed, coniferous and deciduous forests. Among the ephemeroids: scilla, candyk, anemone, colchicum, tulips, crocuses, yellow goose onions, bulbous bluegrass.

They can grow stems and leaves slowly, but only flower and bear fruit during a short growing season. Favorable conditions for this usually occur in early spring or autumn. After flowering, their above-ground organs die off, but tubers, bulbs or rhizomes remain underground, from which the above-ground parts will grow again next season.

Thal's rhizomet

This ephemera is also called cutting. With the exception of Antarctica, the plant is distributed on all continents. It is found in Canada and the USA, in the southern and central regions of South America, in North and South Africa, throughout Eurasia and Australia.

The rhizome lives only six weeks and is capable of self-pollinating. Due to these properties, the plant is often used in laboratories for various studies, like fruit flies or rats. It was even grown on space stations and planned to grow on Mars and the Moon.

Oak groats

Like the rhizome, the kibble belongs to the cabbage family. It grows up to 20 centimeters. The leaves of the plant are oblong and located close to the ground. At the end of long and straight stems there are small pale yellow flowers, collected in inflorescences.

Krupka blooms from April to June. Its seeds and stems are often used in folk medicine to cleanse the blood, kidneys, and treat bronchitis and pleurisy. It grows in meadows and fields, on rocky and sandy slopes. Krupka is found in Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asia, Siberia, the Far East and the European part of Russia.

Scilla

Scilla is often called the “blue snowdrop” due to the strong similarity of the plants. This is a typical ephemeroid that lives for several years. often blue, but may be white or yellow. It blooms for about two weeks in April, with some species appearing in the fall.

Scilla is found in Africa, Asia and Southern Europe, Crimea, and the south of the European part of Russia. The flower grows in mountainous areas or on shady, well-moistened plains. Despite the fact that his homeland is southern regions, it tolerates frost well.

The flowering of early small bulbous plants marks the long-awaited arrival of spring. For each crop it is fleeting, only about two weeks. However, their assortment is wide enough for us to have the opportunity to admire the picturesque carpet for at least a month, selecting the ephemeroids according to the order of flowering. The bulbs, tubers, and rhizomes of these plants are small in volume, which allows for fairly close planting near other perennials or shrubs. The ground part dies off quite quickly after flowering and does not spoil the appearance of the plantings.

European Kandyk Snowflake

Crocus Remembrance

In general, crops are unpretentious and durable, they can long time do without the attention of the gardener, however, for a successful start, a number of conditions must be met, first of all - good drainage selected landing site. Best time planting - from mid-August to mid-September.

Later dates are also acceptable, if possible. weather. The bulbs are planted to a depth of 4-7 cm, the planting distance is from 7 cm. Newly acquired planting material should be carefully inspected, removing all soft and rotten bulbs, as well as those that are too light and dried out.

Corydalis dense

Iris reticulum George and Pushkinia

Iris reticulum tatherine Hodgkin

After flowering, the leaves are not cut off; they must dry out on their own - this is necessary for the full development of the plant and flowering next year. When the nest of bulbs thickens, it is dug up and planted. This is not always necessary, only when flowering deteriorates or in order to take over the crop large area. It is important not to skip the time of digging, but to do it when the leaves are dry but still noticeable, otherwise it will be difficult to find the bulbs in the soil later.

Vesennik Cilician

Kandyk Siberian

Pests and diseases are rare, but voles, shrews and moles can significantly damage plantings. Spring whiteflower (Leucojum vernum) blooms from the end of April, the flowers are quite large, solitary. Prefers dense, moisture-absorbing soils, where it quickly grows in large colonies. On dry, poor soils it blooms and reproduces very weakly.

Vesennik (Eranthis). Two species are grown - winter spring grass (E. hyemalis) and Cilician (E. cilicica), as well as their varieties and hybrids. It blooms very early, right out of the snow. The dazzling yellow flowers open only in sunny weather. When choosing spring flowers, you should keep in mind that its nodules dry out quickly.

Therefore, you must either plant them immediately after receiving or digging them up, or store them in slightly moist peat (perlite, sphagnum) and a perforated bag until planting.

Iridodictium (I. reticulatum) and histrioides (I. histrioides) are represented in cultivation by varieties and hybrids, many of which work well in our climate (Katherine Hodgkin, George, etc.).

They bloom in the second half of April. Large bright flowers on short stems are very impressive. They are durable only in warm, well-warmed-up summer places exposed to the sun. To the nutritional value of the soil special requirements do not present it, it is only desirable that it is not sour. Kandyki (Erythronium) are distinguished by their rare grace and originality, but are quite rare in gardens.

Crocus Violet Queen

Bulbs are also rare on sale. They are “naked” - devoid of integumentary scales, fragile and, as a result, very vulnerable during storage and transportation. However, careful digging and shipping in slightly moistened peat or sphagnum is quite possible, so do not be afraid to order kandyks from specialized nurseries or from collectors.

Now we already have at our disposal a number of varieties of European kandyk (E. denscanis) and decorative forms of the Caucasian (E. caucasicum) and Siberian (E. sibiricum). The Caucasian one blooms first, immediately after the snow melts, and the other two species follow it, in the second half to the end of April. The least fastidious kandyk of toulumnense (E. toulumnense) blooms later, at the end of May. The best planting location is partial shade. The soils are similar in structure and nutritional value to forest soils.

It is useful to add leaf humus or simply half-rotted litter to the “native” garden soil. If kandyks are planted under trees, then fallen leaves are not removed. It is better not to dig up nests of bulbs unless necessary and generally disturb the plants as little as possible. Crocuses, on the other hand, are widespread and popular. From these alone you can create a multi-colored meadow that blooms for a whole month.

Crocus hybrid Blue Peter

The earliest are the golden crocus (C. chrysanthus) and its varieties and the Tommasini crocus (C. tommasinianus). After them, the majority of varieties of hybrid origin bloom. For planting, choose a bright place with loose, sufficiently nutritious soil.

The division of corm nests must be carried out earlier than in other small-bulbed corms, since the mother corm produces daughter corms in large quantities, and with a lack of space for development, they become smaller. Small daughter bulbs bloom worse. Such a nest is dug up in early June, the bulbs are sorted, dried and stored in a dark, dry, ventilated room until planting.

Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) is one of the most unpretentious ephemeroids. If planted in a shaded part of the garden on loose, moderately nutritious soils, it can grow for years without any care. Withstands sodding and deep planting of bulbs without compromising flowering. Blooms in early April, from under the snow. In years with particularly heavy snow cover, you can see snowdrops appearing in bloom directly in the melting snowdrifts.

Crocuses and Chionodoxa

At the same time, they have yellowish leaves, devoid of chlorophyll, that have grown in a dark snow captivity. In the light they quickly turn green, and the plants continue to bloom as if nothing had happened. The terry form of Flore Pleno reproduces much more slowly than the typical one. Siberian Scilla (Scitta sibirica) is the most common of the Scilla, it blooms in early May. The flowers are bright blue, noticeable from a distance.

Has a Major shape (commercial name Spring Beauty), differing more large flowers. It grows well in the sun, in partial shade and in fairly strong shade, but in the latter case the peduncles become lodged. Absolutely unpretentious, easily naturalized, spreading throughout the garden by self-sowing. The earlier one is Mishchenko's scilla (S. mischtschenkoana), it blooms in mid-April.

Spring whiteflower

The flowers are light blue, in inflorescences of 5-7 pieces. Following it, the graceful two-leaved scilla (S. bifolia) blooms. It has medium-sized star-shaped dark blue flowers, 12-15 per peduncle. And at the same time, another, very elegant scilla is blooming - Rosen's scilla (S. rosenii). Her blue flowers have an original shape: the petals are bent back, like a cyclamen.

Puschkinia scittoides, according to its specific name, resembles a scilla, the flowers are pale blue in inflorescences of 10-12. Prefers a bright planting site and is unpretentious. It is better to plant nests of bulbs every 5-6 years. Chionodoxa blooms in mid-April. The most common varieties are Chionodoxa luciliae (C. luciliae) and giant (C. gigantea).

Chionodoxa Lucilia

Chionodoxa hybrida

They have fairly large, wide-open flowers. different shades blue, pink, lilac and white. Chionodoxa Sardensis (C. sardensis) blooms with smaller flowers, collected in inflorescences of 7-9 pieces. Plants develop better in sunny places. Unpretentious, they can do without digging and dividing nests of bulbs for years.

They easily spread throughout the garden by self-sowing, and in places where they are planted together with scillas they form hybrid forms. For flower growers who love order in their flower beds, Chionodoxes, with their ability to grow wherever they wish, present certain difficulties. Corydalis (Corydalis) are even more freedom-loving than Chionodox. This is a true find for natural style gardens.

Once you plant the dense corydalis (C.solida, C. halleri) in a flower garden, over the years you will get flowering meadows both at the original planting site and far around it. On sale there are selected natural forms and varieties with flowers in pink, lilac, purple, two-color, as well as white and yellowish. Self-seeding of plants produces a wide variety of color variations. Flowering lasts from mid-April to early May, longer in cool weather. Corydalis bract (C. bracteata) is a larger species, creamy yellow flowers in a large raceme.

Scilla bifolia

Scillas, corydalis and crocuses

Corydalis dense Drops of Claret

Oak anemones

Very interesting, but rare on sale are the Far Eastern species of corydalis - dubious (C. ambigua) and Turchaninova (C. turchaninovii). This miniature plants with sky-blue flowers collected in a loose, short raceme. Corydalis prefer a semi-shaded planting site: under trees, shrubs, between large perennials. Digging is never required.

Anemone Green Fingers

If you need to do this, then you must not miss the moment - the ground part of the corydalis disappears very quickly, after which it is difficult to find small nodules in the soil. Corydalis nodules dry out easily, so they are planted immediately after receiving.

If you still have to preserve the tubers for some time, they are sprinkled with a slightly damp substrate (peat, sphagnum), placed in perforated or paper bags and kept in a cool, dark room. Among rhizomatous ephemeroids, the oak anemone (Anemonoides nemorosa) has the greatest varietal diversity.

There are varieties in blue and lilac tones: Robinsoniana, Atrocaerulea, Royal Blue, etc. Among them, Abendhimmel is distinguished by especially large flowers of a smoky amethyst color. Pink varieties have a peculiarity - the color appears over time. A newly blooming flower may disappoint you with only a hint of pink color, as for example in the Tilo variety. But as it blooms, the tone becomes more and more saturated, so the light pink Marselina at the beginning of flowering ends flowering almost crimson.

Anemone Marselina

Among terry varieties unsurpassed in growth vigor and flowering stability ancient white variety Vestal. Among oak anemones, there are also varieties with white-green flowers of unusual shape: Monstrosa, Green Fingers, etc. Pale-yellow shades are added by varieties of anemone lipsiensis (Anemonoides x lipsiensis), a hybrid between oak anemone and buttercup anemone. The flowers of the varieties Pallida and Schwefelfeuer are somewhat smaller than those of the oak anemone, but the plants grow faster.

Anemones form neat dense clumps with graceful carved leaves; they bloom from the beginning of May for two weeks or more. During flowering, the leaves are practically invisible behind a continuous carpet of delicate flowers. Plants should be given a place in moving shade; the soil should be loose and moderately nutritious.

It is useful to enrich it with leaf humus and mulch the plantings with rotted leaves. The right time for planting is the entire second half of summer, early autumn. Planting material is usually pieces of rhizome with several buds. They are stored in a slightly moist substrate.

Anemone lipsiensis Schwefelfeuer

When planting, they are placed horizontally, at a depth of about 3 cm. If suitable conditions have been created, then further care may not be needed at all. The plants do not require rejuvenating division, and it is better not to disturb them with replanting. Note that varieties of oak anemone can retain leaves until August in cool summers.

Anemone Vestal

Oak anemone and strange butterbur

If the white-green varieties of oak anemone have exotic look, then they still look like garden plants. Physochlaina physaloides, on the contrary, gives the impression that it was brought to us from outer space.

In early spring, dark purple shoots appear, then they are covered with purple-violet leaves, densely pubescent buds appear and, finally, an inflorescence of several bell-shaped lilac flowers appears. Then nothing interesting happens - the stems turn green, stretch out, lie down and dry out by mid-June. But for the sake of a stunning spring benefit, it is worth placing the bladderwort in the garden.

It is planted during the dormant period (second half of summer, autumn) in sections of rhizomes, shallowly. Rhizomes tolerate shipment and storage in the substrate well. The location is preferably light, with almost any soil, but not too wet. You just need to take into account that on rich soils the active growth of bladderwrack will have to be limited.

Physalis bladderwort

Canadian sanguinaria (Sanguinaria canadensis) blooms in the second half to end of April. Shape with simple flowers good in large clumps in shady places with moisture-absorbing soils, where flowering can last about 10 days. Plants actively explore the surrounding space with the help of spreading rhizomes.

Self-seeding is often observed. After flowering, the clump is decorated with grayish-green leaves of unusual shape, which dry out by mid-June. The double form grows more slowly, but blooms more spectacularly and lasts longer.

Plants take root well when planted in pieces of rhizomes with several buds in the second half of summer, in September. Transplants are not required, and if necessary, they are performed during the dormant period, carefully removing the fragile rhizomes.

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12.02.2019

Among the representatives of the plant world, there are plants whose full life cycle is completed in a few weeks (from 2 to 6) or months (5 to 6, sometimes more). Due to such a short growing season, they received the name ephemera(lat. ephemerae), which translated from ancient Greek means “for a day”, i.e. plants of one day. Sometimes in one season they manage to form several generations.

Ephemera are represented by annual herbaceous plants that live in various climatic zones, including deserts, steppes and forest-steppes, forests and tundra. Among them, the most common are: oak wood grain (lat. Draba nemorosa, cabbage family), (lat. Arabidopsis thaliana, Brassica family), sandy stag (lat. Ceratocarpus, family Chenopodiaceae), steppe alyssum (lat. Alýssum desertórum, cabbage family), etc.

The short life span of ephemerals is a feature associated with the conditions of their existence. Adapting to unfavorable climatic environmental factors, they were forced to reduce all phases of their development, including seed germination, growth, development, flowering, fruiting and dying, in order to use the most suitable conditions for life. Like most plants, the life cycle of ephemerals is possible only in the warm season, in the presence of lighting and a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil.

In steppes and deserts, where a hot, arid climate prevails, ephemerals make up from 60% to 90% of the plant life living there. What is surprising is their ability to respond to various changes in environmental conditions. The period of existence of ephemerals depends entirely on precipitation in the autumn, winter and spring seasons. In summer, during high temperatures accompanied by prolonged drought, the plants die completely.

Desert Ephemera- these are low, usually not exceeding 10 - 12 cm in height, herbaceous plants with small, loose leaves and a weak, superficial root system. The period of their flowering occurs more often in spring (less often in autumn), and then the desert area is transformed by the simultaneous opening of multi-colored and bright flowers. Retaining soil moisture, ephemeral plants cover the ground with a thick carpet, often using their leaves as a surface layer. protective layer from the drying rays of the sun. In a short period of time, while a sufficient amount of water remains in the soil for their life activity, ephemerals manage to completely go through their life cycle: bloom and leave seeds. The high drought and heat resistance of their seeds is another feature that allows new generations of ephemerals to survive in extreme conditions.

In contrast to the ephemerals of deserts, whose life ceases in summer, for ephemera of the tundra and other climatic zones with a harsh cold climate, summer is the only period possible for life. In permafrost conditions, ephemeral seeds begin to germinate only with the onset of a short summer, in thawed conditions. sun rays shallow layer of soil. Within a few weeks of warm weather, these plants go through all phases of the growing season, leaving their seeds in the soil for new life.

In addition to ephemerals, which are annual plants, some also have a short growing season. perennials, called ephemeroids. Unlike ephemerals, in ephemeroids during unfavorable periods only the above-ground part dies off, while the underground part (root, rhizome, bulb) is preserved. Ephemeroids are characterized by a long period of dormancy, thanks to which plants manage to survive unfavorable conditions for life.

Like ephemerals, ephemeroids are represented by plants belonging to various families. Among them are: bulbous bluegrass (lat. Poa bulbosa, family Cereals), Schrenck's tulip (lat. Tulipa schrenkii, Liliaceae family) and Bieberstein tulip (lat. Tulipa biebersteiniana, Liliaceae family), early sedge (lat. Carex praecox, sedge family), sleep-grass (lat. Pulsatilla patens, Ranunculaceae family), deceptive onion (lat. Allium decipiens, family Onion), low iris (lat. Īris humīlis, Iris family), etc.

With the onset of favorable conditions, the ephemeroids are activated, their dormant buds awaken, using starch and other substances stored in the underground part. nutrients. Among the ephemeroids there are both spring-flowering plants, which make up the majority, and those plants whose flowering occurs in the fall.

A separate ecological group is formed by ephemerals that develop on the banks of water bodies, the so-called. floodplain ephemera. Throughout the year, rivers and lakes have periods of low and high water, which occur as a result of natural evaporation (hot, dry summers) or addition (melting snow, seasons of autumn or spring rainfall). Many ephemerals use the period of low water as possible conditions for life: their seeds germinate, and the plants manage to complete their life cycle before the onset of the rainy season, when part of the coast disappears again under water. Ripe seeds of floodplain ephemerals can remain under water for a long period until the water level drops again.

Ephemerals also include many weeds that cause harm agriculture. Although of all categories of these plants ephemeral weeds least dangerous, under certain conditions they can cause significant damage to the future harvest of cultivated plants, weeding cereal crops, garden and household plots, fields with perennial herbs. Ephemeral weeds develop well in areas with sufficient moisture and in waterlogged areas. A striking example This is a weed plant that is part of the group of ephemerals, chickweed or chickweed (lat. Stellaria, family Carnation).

Such weeds have exceptional resistance to unfavorable living conditions and easily adapt to extreme situations. Thanks to the short growing season, their seeds ripen quickly and have time to fall to the soil surface even before the crops are harvested. The hard and durable shell of the seeds helps them survive the winter successfully, and when they fall into deep soil layers during autumn plowing, they are able to remain viable for several years. As a rule, ephemeral weeds, in addition to their rapid growth rates, also differ high level seed production. In order for the control of this group of weeds to be successful, it is necessary to carry out protective measures repeatedly, taking into account the frequency of the appearance of new generations of weeds.

Also among ephemerals and ephemeroids there are quite a lot of rare plants listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. These include: folded snowdrop (lat.Galanthus plicatus, Amaryllidaceae family),

oak tulip (lat.Tulipa biebersteiniana, Liliaceae family),

netted saffron (lat.Crocus reticulatus , Iris family),

Brandushka multi-colored (lat.Bulbocodium versicolor , family Bevremnikovy) etc.