exhibition of the Botanical Museum

The principal regularities of distribution of the plant taxa and the plant communities on our planet are displayed in this exposition. The vegetation diversity of Russia and its contiguous countries are shown in more detail. The parts of exposition are related to the largest plant geographical regions which are distinguished by features of their flora and vegetation.

	Taiga, the coniferous forests of Eurasia, is expanded on huge area from Scandinavia to Chukotka peninsula. The plants of taiga are displayed on the showcases “Vegetation of Siberia” and “Eurasian coniferous forests”. The woods of the most common taiga trees, a piece of the Siberian larch bark (20 cm thick), and herbaria of dwarf shrubs and herbs grown in coniferous forests are shown here.
	A small lecture room there is in the hall center. Showcases situated along its perimeter are dedicated to the main vegetation types of European part of Russia such as tundra, taiga, peat bogs, oak forests, and steppe. They show the natural vegetation zoning as well as the features of different plant communities. The trees and shrubs commonly cultivated in St.Petersburg are also shown here. The lecture room is convenient to conduct the lessons for students.
	Showcase “Holarctics. Caucasus” displays the altitudinal distribution and some features of vegetation in this very interesting region. Caucasian flora is very rich (more than 6000 plant species) and original: ca. 20% of its species list are endemics, i.e. they do not grow elsewhere. Some of Caucasian endemics (such as Albizzia julibrissin (silk-tree albizzia), Parrotia persica (“iron wood”), Quercus hartwissiana (Hartwis’ oak), Dioscorea caucasica etc. are shown here.
	Cushion plants from mountain deserts in Kopet-Dagh. These plants are fit to very dry and cold climate. Their streamline shape helps to resist against strong winds and to protect the tender buds from the temperature drops. Moreover, the dense spongy body of the cushion plant takes up and saves the scanty water.
	Showcase “Holarctics. East Asia” is dedicated to diverse vegetation of the Russian Far East, Korea, Japan, and northern China. The broad-leaved forests of south Primorye are shown here in details. The species diversity of these forests is very rich; for example, seven species of maples occur there. All these seven species as well as a very valuable pharmaceutical herb ginseng, lianas Schizandra and Actinidia (wild relative of the kiwi-plant), and very fine samples of the bamboo stems are displayed.
	Metasequoia, the living fossil plant. This coniferous tree has been initially discovered in fossil state, and after that the living Metasequoia trees were found by the boundary of provinces Sichuan and Hubei in China. Now this unique plant is widely distributed by the men: it is cultivated in many botanical gardens worldwide.
	Showcase “Vegetation of Kamchatka, Sakhalin, and Kurils” shows the features of the vegetation cover of the most eastern regions of Russia. Polygonum sachalinense (giant knotweed), Filipendula camtschatica (giant meadowsweet) and other large herbs (more 2 m tall) forming dense meadows are displayed. In Kunashir, the most southern island of Kurils, taiga contacts with subtropical vegetation, and the fires grow next to magnolias. This species of magnolia is also displayed here.
	Cones of the North American pines. Floras of Eurasia and North America resemble each other: maples, oaks, ash-trees, spruces, pines and many other trees occur on both continents. However, the pines in North America have more diverse cones in their shape and size than the Eurasian pines.
	Stem section of Sequoiadendron (mammoth-tree). This is one of the largest tree on the Earth, that can reach 110 m in tall, and 11 m in diameter. Our exhibit is relatively young and small: its age is ca. 1000 years whereas some trees are up to 3000 years old. Natural habitat of the mammoth-tree is northern California and southern Oregon by the Pacific cost of U.S.A. Only few hundreds of large trees are remained.
	Showcase “Neotropics. Moist tropics.” is dedicated to the tropical rain forests of New World. Diversity of habits, life strategies, modes of dissemination of plants in these very rich and vulnerable forests is displayed. Giant pods of Entada (up to 1,5 m in length), or chuño (potatos dried on frost) from Bolivia are shown here. Samples of the parasitic plant Langsdorfia is especially interesting: these samples have been collected by an expedition of G.I. Langsdorf, the famous Russian diplomat and naturalist, in 1822-1828 in Brazil. Now this plant is named in his honor.
	Thick stems of lianas from South America. Liana is a common plant habit for the tropical rain forest. The closest relative of this liana with helical stem is the field bindweed (Convolvulus arvense), a common weed in many regions of Russia. In spite of their different habits, both these plants have very similar structure of flowers and fruits.
	The distinctive plant communities of the tropical sea coasts are displayed on the showcase “Mangrove vegetation”. Herbaria of the mangrove trees, their pneumatophores (breathing roots), and viviparity (its germination occur in the fruit that remains on the maternal tree) are shown here. These unique features help mangrove trees to survive regularly flooding by salted water.
	Palms are widely distributed in tropics and subtropics; their diversity is shown on the horizontal glass case. Inflorescence of the oil palm (a source of palm oil that is very cheap), seed of the Seychelles palm (the largest seed in plant world), and artifacts made of palm leaves, stems or seeds are displayed here.
	These toy elephants from Ceylon are weaved of leaves of the Borassus palm. The hut from Antilles is made of leaves of Trinax, another palm genus. On the left there is a infructescence of ivory palm (the coat of its seeds used as an ivory substitute) and a rope made of the Piassava fibers. Below there is a piece of the Corypha leaf covered by oriental letters. Leaves of this palm were used for writing since the antiquity.
	Within the exhibits of the showcase “Vegetation of equatorial mountains” the samples of so-called “oppressor-plants” are of great interest. These plants (mainly figs and their relatives) show a peculiar strategy of surviving in shady tropical forests. Initially this plant grows on branch of a large tree. Bit by bit it braids by its roots the stem of host tree which is perished and decayed. As a result, a new tree with the stem made of roots occupies the place of the host tree.
	Leaves of Luecadendron aregenteum (silver tree) are covered by dense bright hairs, so the plant looks beautiful. Leucadendron is a representative of very peculiar flora of the Cape region on the very south part of Africa. Wild ancestors of cultivated sorts of gladiolus and pelargonium are also distributed in the Cape region.
	The cones occur not merely in the conifers. Giant cones of cycads (tropical and subtropical gymnosperm plants that resemble some palms) are presented in this showcase. Unlike the cones of pine or spruce, the cycad cones come apart after their maturation. That is why these exhibits are kept in nets.

	Unique collection of the tree stems ordered on the systematic principle is shown along the stairs between 1^st and 2^nd floors of the Botanical Museum. On the left stairs there are the stems of tree-like ferns, gymnosperms, and palms; on the right one – the stems of dicots and some woody monocots (yuccas and cordilinas).
	Polished section of a large wood knob of walnut. Formation of wood knobs is caused by fungal infection; the wood of these nodules has peculiar patterned texture that is very valued by whittlers.
	Bamboo stems on the landing between left and right stairs. The bamboo stems has the same structure as the culms of wheat or cane but their diameter can reach 40 cm. As every calm, the stem of bamboo grows not only on its apex but also in its nodes. Because of this feature the bamboo has the highest growth rate within plants.

Scheme of the second floor