Study of Hedysarum theinum (Fabaceae Lindl.) in the flora of Kazakhstan

Abstract

Analysis of historical data on the distribution of Hedysarum theinum Krasnob. in Kazakhstan presented in this paper is based on herbarium collections kept at the Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction, Almaty and the Digital Herbarium of Moscow State University, Moscow, as well as a list of species of Hedysarum theinum on the Ivanovsky Ridge, Kazakhstani Altai with specimens collected as a result of expedition trips to the study area. The cenoflora includes 176 species from 120 genera and 41 families. The hierarchical order of the leading families is as follows: Asteraceae Dumort, Poaceae Barnhart, Ranunculaceae Juss., Rosaceae Juss. Comparative analysis of life forms shows that short rhizomatous plants prevail – 33%, as taproot plants constitute 24% and tussock plants – 11%. The basis of communities in relation to the temperature, moisture and substrate structure are made of the following ecological groups of plants: mesophytes – 30%, and, in a smaller proportion, of mesohygrophytes – 19%, mesoxerophytes – 20% and mesopsychrophytes – 18%.