“FUTURE IN FLOWERS” FESTIVAL
The festival began on 21 May and ended on 8 July, on the last day of the RUSSIA EXPO. This large-scale flower marathon captured the whole VDNKh area, and unique art objects made of flowers were introduced in several locations simultaneously. Guests could witness more than 100 million flowers, flower exhibits from all 89 regions of the country, and designer flower compositions from institutions and state corporations. Future in Flowers workshop held floristry classes, lectures from well-known plant breeders, and fun trivia games. Visitors were shown the best achievements of national plant breeders: about 400 types of peonies, 140 types of lilacs, 120 types of irises, 250 types of roses, 30 types of dahlias, as well as other flowers and plants of Russia.
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Pontic rhododendron - an ancient ornament of the Adygea land
In the Republic of Adygea one can admire the blossoming of high-mountain vegetation - there is an abundance of Caucasian rhododendrons, primroses, anemones and a couple of dozens of other plants, many of which are unique relics and endemics.
Rhododendrons belong to the Heather family and are related to Ledum, cranberry, bilberry and lingonberry; they have medicinal properties. Modern medicine counts at least nine medicinal species among them.
Pontic rhododendron (Latin: Rhododendron ponticum) is a dense creeping multi-stemmed shrub or small tree, reaching a height of 1.5-2.5 m, with evergreen leathery leaves of rich color. Flowers are 5 cm in diameter, purple, often with small greenish-yellow spots or veins, fragrant; collected in large ball-shaped inflorescences at the ends of shoots. Each of them contains from 8 to 20 flowers.
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Siberian dwarf pine. Magadan region
The Siberian dwarf pine (Latin: Pinus pumila) inhabits the harshest areas of the Russian Far East. These low bushes spread across the taiga, forming dense, impenetrable thickets, earning them the nicknames "lying cedar" and "dwarf pine." In the Magadan region, it is ubiquitous and is the only coniferous tree in the area.
Siberian dwarf pine is among the leaders in the pine family for its high content of phytoncides, providing antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects, calming the body, and boosting the immune system. Infusions made from the needles are rich in vitamin C. While modern people use these infusions to support their bodies during colds, three hundred years ago, they literally saved sailors from scurvy. Vitus Bering and his team never went a day without tea or kvass made from dwarf pine during the Second Kamchatka Expedition.
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Field horsetail. Perm region
Field horsetail is a perennial spore-bearing herbaceous plant widely distributed in the Perm region. In folk, it is called "pestls", "pistils", field pine, earthy cones.
Horsetails are very ancient inhabitants of our planet, appearing on Earth 400 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs. But back then, they were trees - remnants of calamites, ancestors of the now living low-growing herbaceous "trees," which are found during coal mining. From these remnants, it can be concluded that calamites were huge trees, up to 30 meters tall and with a trunk diameter of approximately 1 meter.
The grass of horsetail contains flavonoids, organic acids (aconitic, malic, oxalic), salts of silicic acid, essential oil, bitterness, tannins, and other biologically active substances.
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Narrow-leaf fireweed (Ivan-chai). Tyumen region
Narrow-leaf fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium (L.) Scop.) known in Russia as Ivan-chai (lit. Ivan-tea) is a perennial herbaceous plant, the type species of the genus Chamaenerion, belonging to the family Onagraceae. It is often considered part of the genus Epilobium. Commonly known as "Koporye tea" and "field tea," in Russia, it has been used to produce tea as a substitute for expensive Chinese tea since the XVIII century.
Fireweed is widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, especially in the forest zone of Siberia, where it is one of the main honey plants. In the Tyumen region, it grows in the Tobolsk district and the Antipino area. Look for Ivan-chai on forest edges, ravine slopes, and riverbanks. This plant can quickly cover large areas in clearings and burnt-out areas due to its rapid vegetative reproduction, which helps restore soil fertility. Due to its ability to grow in fire-damaged areas, it is also called fire herb, garevik, pozharnik in Russia.
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Anemone hepatica. Nizhny Novgorod region
Anemone hepatica (Hepatica nobilis) is an herbaceous perennial plant, 5-15 cm tall, with solitary, upright flowers of bluish-purple color. In their young state, the leaves of the hepatica are covered with dense, soft, silky hairs, which they lose later.
The plant belongs to the buttercup family. It blooms in April-May and bears fruit in June (the fruits are nuts up to 5 mm long). It reproduces mainly by seeds.
Anemone hepatica is listed in the Red Data Book of the Nizhny Novgorod region. It can be found in the "Voskresenskoye Povetluzhye" natural park.
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Reindeer lichen. Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area
Reindeer lichen (also known as reindeer moss), a modest-looking yet completely unique organism in its properties, forms the foundation of the vegetation cover in the Far North, including the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area. It belongs to a peculiar group of plants: a symbiotic organism composed of fungi and algae (cyanobacteria).
This plant is remarkably resilient to extreme conditions, low temperatures, as well as high doses of ultraviolet and penetrating radiation. It easily endures long periods without moisture.
Reindeer lichen is a staple in the diet of the reindeer. The animals can detect the scent of reindeer lichen through the snow and dig it out with their hooves. Reindeer lichen grows very slowly, requiring many years to restore pastures. For instance, the average growth rate of fruticose lichens in the Arctic tundra subzone is 1-2 mm, while in the forest-tundra zone it reaches up to 3-4 mm per year.
Along with the RUSSIA EXPO, the flower festival is also coming to an end.
The "Future in Flowers" festival continues at the RUSSIA EXPO, where unique flowerbeds from all regions of our country can be seen at the "Space" pavilion until July 8.
The RUSSIA EXPO concludes on July 8, and with it, the flower festival will also come to an end.
