Biological and morphological features of the Prunus laurocerasus L. during introduction at the "Sofiyivka" National Park of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Abstract

Aims. Prunus laurocerasus L. is an evergreen ornamental plant with a number of valuable economic properties: decorative, medicinal, food, technical, etc. However, in Ukraine, plants of this species belong to the rare and require the study of the biological and morphological features of the growth and development of P. laurocerasus plants in the conditions of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. Methods. Material for research served 3–5-year-old plants P. laurocerasus, which grow in quarter No. 3, and the experimental production site of the National dendrological park "Sofiyivka" of the NAS of Ukraine. The biological features of the species were investigated according to the recommendations of Christen C. Raunkiær. Morphological description of plants was carried out using biometric methods. Results. The biological and morphological features of P. laurocerasus plants grown in the plantations of the "Sofiyivka" National Park were determined. The periods of its flowering and fruiting were investigated, and the average growth of annual shoots during the growing season was tested. The structure of the flower, leaf, and bark is described, and the type of root system was identified. Conclusions. It was found that the species P. laurocerasus belongs to mesophanerophytes with a growing season of 210–223 days, a flowering period from the second decade of April to the second decade of May, and an annual average growth of shoots up to 46 cm. The number of petals and stamens in the flower was determined, a morphological description of the leaf plate was carried out, and the type of root system was identified.