WEEPING PAPERBARK – VALUABLE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MYRTLE FAMILY

As a result of the introduction, the bioresource potential of Sochi Black Sea region in previous years was replenished with feijoa, myrtle, eucalyptus, beautiful stamens and other representatives of the Myrtaceae Juss family. Weeping paperbark (Melaleuca L.) – valuable evergreen flowering shrubs with phytoncidal properties belong to the same family. Weeping paperbark is valued not only for its ornamental qualities, the ability to grow on sea coasts, tolerate drought and waterlogging of soils, but it is also frost-resistant. Genus Melaleuca L. includes about 230 species growing in the south hemisphere. There are 21 species in the collection funds of 7 Russian botanical gardens, most of which are cultivated in greenhouses. The most common are M. armillaris, M. ericifolia, M. styphelioides. There are 7 introduced species known in the open ground in the Russian part of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. Three listed species have been acclimatized in Sochi arboretum «Dendrary», in addition to them, M. decora, M. diosmifolia, M. linariifolia, M. preissiana grow in the Subtropical Botanical Garden of Kuban. The paper has analyzed the prospects for the introduction of weeping paperbark into the humid subtropical zone of Russia using the methods of the generic complex (phylogenetic relationships), climatic analogues, as well as taking into account secondary habitats and the results of direct experiment. Weeping paperbark plants from south-eastern Australia (st. Victoria, some species of South Australia, New South Wales) and Tasmania, as well as species closely related to already cultivated weeping paperbark are attractive for introduction. In open ground conditions of the Russian humid subtropics, M. capitata, M. decussata, M. gibbosa, M. hypericifolia, M. lanceolata, M. pustulata, M. squamea, M. squarrosa and other species specified in the paper should be tested. It is necessary to take into account the origin of the introduced material, in the case of Western and North Australian species, giving preference to secondary habitats.