The alien plant Euphorbia davidii (Euphorbiaceae) in the flora of Ukraine: history of introduction, present distribution and ecological-cenotic features

Abstract

Introduction. The article provides a brief overview of the stages and foci of the initial introduction and further spread of the alien plant Euphorbia davidii Subils (Euphorbiaceae) in Ukraine. Chorological and phytocenotic features are summarized, a map of the distribution of the species is drawn up, and information on the state of populations is provided. Aims. Summarizing information on the stages of introduction, the current distribution of E davidii, and trends in the further distribution of the species in Ukraine. Methods. Traditional field research was carried out (route surveys, identification of new localities of the species, accounting of the number of plants in the places of introduction and their ecological and cenotic characteristics) and camera processing of literary and other information, in particular, herbarium collections (KHER, KW, KWHA, et al.) and electronic databases (iNaturalist, UkrBin). Results. The first centers of E. davidii in Ukraine appeared in the 90s of the 20th century. and recorded almost simultaneously in the southern (North Black Sea), southeastern (Donbas), and western (Transcarpathia) regions, later in the Dnieper region. All discovered localities of the species at that time were confined exclusively to railway tracks. At the beginning of the XXI century. new locations of the species were found in the northeastern (Kharkov City), southern (Crimea), and central (Poltava Region) regions. In the last decade, new locations of the species were recorded in different parts of the country: Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Cherkasy Regions. Recently, individual plants or small curtains have been found outside railway ecotopes, in particular, in the Mykolaiv region, E. davidii was noted in sunflower crops, and in Transcarpathia — as part of synanthropic plant communities. Conclusions. So, the information on the modern distribution of E. davidii in Ukraine was summarized: the foci of the species were recorded in all botanical and geographical zones of the country, on the territory of 17 administrative regions. This testifies to the wide phytogeographic amplitude of the species and the expansion of the spectrum of its ecological and coenotic features.