Uman National University | today: 05/20/2026
| Author(s) |
Mamchur T.V., Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, , Uman National University of Horticulture Парубок М. І., , , |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | The Agronomy | ||
| year | 2026 | issue | Issue 108 part 1 |
| pages | 75-86 | index UDK | 58:069.029:632.51-045.35:378 | DOI | 10.32782/2415-8240-2026-108-1-75-86 (Link) |
| Abstract | Purpose. To summarize information on a new record of European heliotrope (Heliotropium europaeum L.) under the conditions of the university botanical nursery and its spontaneous spread. To provide the botanical characteristics, uses, chorology of the invasive species distribution in Ukraine, and to present control measures. Methods. Geobotanical, field, floristic, route survey, and analytical methods. Results. The alien species of the steppe zone, European heliotrope (Heliotropium europaeum L.) from the family Boraginaceae, was analyzed and recorded as a dangerous poisonous weed for both agrophytocenoses and natural phytodiversity. The species was detected in the collection plots of the botanical nursery of the Department of Biology of Uman National University. Its botanical characteristics and chorology in Ukraine are presented and generalized based on literature sources, herbarium materials, Internet resources, and the authors’ own observations. According to international databases (GBIF, iNaturalist), records of the species in the world flora are presented, where it spreads due to the large number of diaspores (53 thousand units) and is included in the list of invasive species in the USA and Australia. In Ukraine, professional botanists and nature enthusiasts have recorded Heliotropium europaeum within the steppe zone, namely in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Odesa regions, as well as in Crimea, which is confirmed by photographs and herbarium specimens in the iNaturalist and UkrBIN databases. Its spontaneous spread along roadsides in cities and villages, in fields, and on pastures is noted. We report a new record of the studied species in Cherkasy region, at Uman National University in Uman, within the collection plantings of ornamental introduced species. This alien species is a poisonous annual weed of pastures, grain-legume crops, row crops, orchards, and flower beds, and it spreads in ruderal habitats. Agronomists recommend applying agronomic practices in weed control, using both mechanical and chemical plant protection measures. Throughout the entire area and even beyond the boundaries of the botanical nursery, weeds spontaneously spread for more than 30 m to the adjacent experimental plots of the Department of General Agriculture, Ecology and Life Safety. Annual monitoring and careful maintenance of the collection plots will help prevent its spread within the territory. Conclusions. The botanical nursery still remains an introduction center in Cherkasy region, particularly in Uman, for the spread of ruderal plants and their penetration into adjacent territories of experimental plots, the university campus, and the urban flora of the city. Under climate change conditions, new alien weed species are appearing that are capable of naturalizing, producing diaspores, persisting in the soil, and spreading spontaneously every year. These plots require enhanced control. We managed to trace the chorology of observations recorded in Ukraine in the eastern and southern regions (Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa), and currently also in the central part of the forest-steppe zone (Cherkasy, Uman, UNU). The species composition of weeds requires annual monitoring in both artificial and natural agrophytocenoses. Compliance with control measures is a prerequisite for preventing their further spread in the urban flora of the city and in natural phytocenoses. | ||
| Key words | alien species, botanical nursery, weed, chorology, spontaneous flora, new records | ||