Inventory and characteristics of rare medicinal plants in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia

Abstract

This work presents the structural analysis of rare medicinal plants of the flora in Tatarstan, Russia. The wild medicinal flora of Tatarstan includes 357 species, 9.5% of which have the status of protected plants. In Tatarstan, the protected species belonging to the subkingdom Higher spore plants are represented by two classes, two families and three genera. Protected Seed plants include Gymnosperms, represented by one class and one family, but the basis of the flora is formed by Angiosperms, including two classes, 15 families and 30 species. The most numerous families of rare plants in Tatarstan are Orchidaceae and Ericaceae. All representatives of this family are tuberiferous plants. Limited vegetative propagation leads to the reduction in species abundance. Plants of the family Ericaceae are confined to the ecological-cenotic group of oligotrophic plants, the distribution of which is associated with rare communities of sphagnum bogs. In general, on the territory Tatarstan, the composition of protected medicinal plants is dominated by wetland species. Among rare plants, more than 40% are located on the border of their range. However, the most common limiting factor for rare and endangered species is the direct or indirect influence of human activities on the natural habitats of medicinal plants.