The Red Book is an officially recognized worldwide document containing information about animals and plants that need special state protection. Such a list may have international, national or regional significance. There are lists of endangered flora and fauna in every state and region. This article will consider plant species listed in the regional Red Book of the city of Rostov and the region.
How the Red Book of Russia was created
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of Russia as a separate independent power, the question arose of the need to issue a state Red Book. Such a publication should have listed endangered species of plants, fungi and animals, collecting information from all over the country. The basis for the creation of this document was the Red Book of the RSFSR. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation was entrusted with controlling the process of issuing such a list. This institution createdgovernment commission on rare species of fauna and flora, which at that time were endangered.
The first issue of the Russian Red Book was published in 2001. The publication included 860 pages of descriptions, color illustrations and photographs of all plants and animals listed in it that need protection.
Description of the Red Book of Rostov and the region
The Red Book of Rostov and the region is a collection of descriptions, illustrated images and photographs of endangered animals, plants and fungi. In 2003, the administration of the Rostov region, by a relevant decree, approved such a list as an official document. This list is a regional version of the Red Data Book of Russia. It contains information about the current state and methods of protection of representatives of flora and fauna that permanently or periodically inhabit the territorial boundaries of the Rostov region.
Currently, this list includes 579 species of endangered wildlife, of which 256 are animals, 44 are mushrooms and 279 are plants listed in the Red Book of the Rostov Region. Rare and endangered representatives of the flora of this region will be considered below.
Bieberstein Tulip
The habitat of this plant is the steppe slopes, meadows, edges and canopies of forests. Such a tulip has a greenish-yellow bud, which is crowned with a thin stem surrounded by two linear leaves. The stem height canreach 40 centimeters.
This representative of the flora is a perennial plant. Its bulb is egg-shaped and reaches two centimeters in diameter. The shell of this underground part of the stem is painted black. She is poisonous.
The Bieberstein Tulip blooms with a single drooping yellow bud that opens wide in sunny weather. At night and on cloudy days, its petals are tightly compressed. Such a plant has a biological feature - it annually changes the mother bulb. Thanks to this, the tulip develops new places. The beauty of such a representative of the flora has led to the fact that this flower may disappear.
Besides the Bieberstein tulip, there are other plants listed in the Red Book of the Rostov Region. For example, thin-leaved peony.
Fine-leaved peony
Thin-leaved peony is one of the most beautiful flowers growing in the steppe. Also, this representative of the flora grows on the edges of deciduous forests.
Such a plant can reach a height of 50 centimeters. Its bud is located on a stem, which is covered with trifoliate leaves. The flower blooms in May and can range in color from red to deep crimson. Bright petals surround the core, which contains yellow anthers and purple stamens. This representative of the flora completes flowering in mid-July.
Popularly, such a plant is also called "crow", or "azure flower". There are many legends and tales about him. Currentlythin-leaved peony is a rare plant. It is noted in the Red Book of the city of Rostov and the region. This endangered representative of the flora is listed in its appropriate section.
The Red Book also includes other types of plants, among which dark lungwort can be distinguished.
Dark Lungwort
This plant is considered one of the most beautiful spring flowers. At first, the petals of the lungwort bud are pink, later they turn blue - blue. There are three to five flowers on the stem, placed close to each other.
A distinctive feature of the lungwort is the presence on one plant of buds with petals of different shades. The flowering period of this representative of the flora is April-May.
The plant has oblong pointed leaves. The calyx of the flower looks like a bell. Basal leaves grow at the lungwort after the end of flowering. The habitat of this representative of the flora is deciduous forests and thickets of shrubs. The dark lungwort is listed in the regional Red Book of Rostov and the region, like other rare plants of this region, for example, dwarf iris.
Dwarf iris
This plant is a short-rhizome herbaceous perennial. The height of its stem can be from 10 to 15 centimeters. The iris has a thickened rhizome, which forms tufts with twisted shoots.
The leaves of the plant are linear in shape and are 6-10 centimeters long and 3-10 millimeters wide. They grow from the rhizome, painted in bluishColour. There is one flower per stem, which can be purple, blue, yellow or white.
Dwarf iris grows mainly in the steppe regions, preferring light and loose soil cover. You can watch the flowering of this representative of the flora in April-May.
Dwarf iris is an endangered species of representatives of the flora. There are also other plants listed in the Red Book of the Rostov region. They will be discussed in more detail below. Such endangered plants include, for example, thin skewer, perennial blueberry or Schrenk's tulip.
Perennial hawthorn
This plant has a feature that distinguishes it from other representatives of the flora. If the perennial hawk is dried, it will not become black or green, like most plants, but will acquire a blue tint. Such an unusual property of a flower is explained by the presence of a special substance in it. While the plant lives, it has the usual green color. But as soon as it dies, this substance oxidizes, and the perennial blueberry turns blue.
The flowering period of such a plant falls on April-May. Blooming buds are small and inconspicuous. The leaves on the stem have an elongated oval shape and are arranged in pairs, one opposite the other.
The perennial hawk loves moisture and mineral-rich soil. This plant can often be found in oak forests. It is listed in the Red Book of Rostov and the region, like other rare plants of this region.
Schrenk Tulip
This plant is a wild type of tulip. During its flowering, the steppe and semi-desert territory where this representative of the flora lives is covered with a flower carpet, painted in several shades at once. Buds can be yellow, lilac, red, soft pink, purple and even white.
This tulip got its name in honor of the famous botanist Schrenk. This flower reaches a height of 15-40 centimeters. It has a large cup-shaped bud, the petals of which are brightly colored. The stem has several dark green leaves with an oblong shape.
Currently, Shrenk's tulip is listed in the Red Book of Rostov and the region, because it is on the verge of extinction. The main reason for this is the plowing of virgin lands, uncontrolled grazing, and industrial pollution of the soil. But most of all, the gradual disappearance of the plant is influenced by the human factor.
Conclusion
The Red Book of the Rostov Region is an annotated list of endangered species of plants, fungi and animals of this region. These representatives of flora and fauna are under state protection. This leaves hope for the resumption of populations of these endangered species.
Endangered plants listed in the Red Book of the Rostov Region can be saved. This will be possible if people take care of nature. Only in this case, humanity in the future will be able to forget what the Redbook.
