Anomalous peony (<i>Paeonia anomala</i> L.) In the Urals and contiguous landsAnomalous peony (<i>Paeonia anomala</i> L.) In the Urals and contiguous lands

Abstract

Modern varieties of flowering ornamental plants have high economic and social significance. Prominent representatives of active long-term plant breeding are various varieties of peonies, which are actively used in landscaping botanical gardens, urban landscapes and smallholdings. With the development of molecular genetics, the selection of ornamental varieties of flowering plants has received a new impetus in its development. Researchers have identified markers that determine important decorative and economic qualities, such as flower shape, leaf color, corolla color, variety of double flower, aroma, which allows to intensify plant breeding, and also, which is quite important, to certify new varieties. In this article, we have given an overview of the results of longterm studies of representatives of the genus Paeonia in the Urals and contiguous lands, since the mid-twentieth century to the present, both domestic and foreign scientific schools. The article presents data on the locations of the anomalous peony along the Ural mountain range, the morphology and ecology of the growth of representatives of this species, medicinal properties, the results of molecular genetic typing of various marker systems. The points requiring more detailed study are indicated: there is no complete up-to-date information on the distribution of the anomalous peony in the Urals, there is no up-to-date data on the population size, there is no information about the molecular genetic structure of the species as a whole. The anomalous peony is a red book species that has a high level of decorativeness, as well as resistance to diseases that can be used not only in pharmacology, but also in modern plant selection. It is known that the number of populations of anomalous peony is low, in places of meetings it is noted singly, less often in small groups, which is connected with the active use of this species in folk medicine. Vegetative and root systems contain a large number of biologically active components with different properties. To develop measures for the protection and rational use of representatives of Paeonia anomala growing in the Urals, it is necessary to study the species more closely in order to preserve it in nature and further use in breeding and hybridization as a source of genes that will help significantly improve the plant breeding potential of modern varieties.