The book is a summary of our own and literary data on seed and vegetative propagation of the wild plants of the Russian Far East. The morphometric characteristics of fruits and seeds, conditions for their germination, laboratory and soil germination capacities, the seed storage period, description of seedlings, methods of vegetative reproduction, possible modes of reproduction in nature, useful properties of the plants are described for about 500 species of spore and seed plants, that are used in official and folk medicine and have nutritional, decorative and other useful properties. The book can be useful for botanists, introducers, seed growers, gardeners, ecologists, students of biological and medical schools, young naturalists.

We studied the seed morphology and germination of 17 Aristolochia species (A. arborea, A. baetica, A. inflata, A. gigantea, A. gracilis, A. clematitis, A. contorta, A. fimbriata, A. labiata, A. littoralis, A. macrophylla, A. manshuriensis, A. maxima, A. rotunda, A. sempervirens, A. tomentosa, A. trilobata). The seeds of A. clematitis, A. contorta, A. trilobata, A. labiata, and A. maxima, as well as all species of Siphisia section (seeds with no wings), have the higher seed morphometric parameters. The seed weight characteristics of species typical of tropical climatic zones (the Gymnolobus section) were lower by ten or more times than those of the species of the other two sections, which are typical of a temperate climate. The greater weight of seeds studied for the species of Siphisia and Diplolobus sections is associated with the presence of a voluminous endosperm, which is required for the embryo development after a long period of time between dissemination and seedlings emergence. The period from sowing to the beginning of germination and the length of the germination period differ between species; the duration of germination is from 1 month to 3.5 years. The seeds of the species from temperate climatic zones (sections Diplolobus and Siphisia) have a non-deep simple morphophysiological dormancy, and the germination starts 1–11 months after seed sowing. We observed intervals in germination from 2 to 12 months in the species of the Diplolobus section; after the intervals, the germination process was continued. The seeds of most of the Gymnolobus section species from tropical zones have a morphological type of dormancy and germinate without intervals. The prolonged germination period and the type of morphophysiological dormancy of seeds have an adaptive value for the species conservation and survival in situ and ex situ.

In order to preserve the gene pool of medicinal plant Oxytropis lanata (Pall.) DC. we analyzed allozyme polymorphism and identified reliable and informative marker enzyme systems of this species; also we studied the response of seeds to deep freezing in liquid nitrogen (–196 ºС). Population has an average level of polymorphism (P95 = 41,2 %, P99 = 52,9 %, A = 1,58, Ho = 0,158, He = 0,171) in general typical for herbaceous legumes, and can serve as a source of material for gene pool conservation of the species. Deep freezing has not led to the death of the seeds; it was marked stimulatory effect of ultralow temperatures, expressed as an acceleration of germination and sharp increase of germinability (98,6 ± 2,3 %) compared to the control (12,0 ± 3,5 %) that is associated with overcoming physical dormancy. There were no abnormalities in the development of seedlings from seeds passed cryopreservation.

The ontomorphogenesis of Aristolochia fimbriata Cham. when cultured under greenhouse conditions in southern Primorye has been studied. The morphological type of Aristolochia fimbriata is a polychasium plant with elongated decumbent shoots and underground tuber. In the first year of life the individuals blossom plentifully and form fruits. Parameters of productivity in cultivated plants are quite high: fruit set 42 %, the actual seed production 33.9 ±6.2 seeds per fruit, seed set 42.6 ± 6.3 %.

In order to preserve the gene pool of medicinal plant Oxytropis lanata (Pall.) DC. we analyzed allozyme polymorphism and identified reliable and informative marker enzyme systems of this species; also we studied the response of seeds to deep freezing in liquid nitrogen (–196 oС). Population has an average level of polymorphism (P95 = 41,2 %, P99 = 52,9 %, A = 1,58, Ho = 0,158, He = 0,171) in general typical for herbaceous legumes, and can serve as a source of material for gene pool conservation of the species. Deep freezing has not led to the death of the seeds; it was marked stimulatory effect of ultralow temperatures, expressed as an acceleration of germination and sharp increase of germinability (98,6 ± 2,3 %) compared to the control (12,0 ± 3,5 %) that is associated with overcoming physical dormancy. There were no abnormalities in the development of seedlings from seeds passed cryopreservation.

The various levels of Na, Mg, K, Ca accumulation in the euhalophyte (Suaeda heteroptera, Salicornia europaea, Salsola komarovii), krinohalophyte (Glehnia littoralis and glycohalophyte (Artemisia stelleriana) leaves are considered in the article. Their relationship with the leaf anatomy and mesostructure is discussed.

The herbaceous vine Aristolochia contorta (Aristolochiaceae) is a rare plant with a fragmented area in East Asia. Confocal laser-scanning microscopy and stereomicroscopy were employed to examine the seed and embryo structure. This is the first research on embryo anatomy in Aristolochia. Shape and structure of this embryo may be phylogenetically significant. The seed structure of A. contorta is similar to that of other Aristolochia species. Considerable variation is found for productivity traits; the average seed set is rather low (26.7%). The studied seed and embryo traits of A. contorta are found to be variable, but may be potentially informative at the genus and species level. The restricted productivity and reduced population size threaten the continued survival of A. contorta and, perhaps, the butterfly that depends on it.

Изучен онтогенез Aristolochia contorta (Aristolochiaceae). Выделено четыре периода развития и девять возрастных состояний. Онтогенез можно характеризовать как полный, с коротким прегенеративным и продолжительным генеративным периодом. Уточнены морфометрические параметры побегов и цветков. A. contorta — многолетняя длиннокорневищная травянистая лиана, поликарпик с летне-зелеными удлиненными вьющимися побегами, вегетативно-подвижный криптофит с корневищем двух типов: эпигеогенным и гипогеогенным. Вид размножается преимущественно вегетативно.

Проведен анализ биоморфологии 63 видов растений и особенностей прорастания семян некоторых видов, подселяющихся в монодоминантные куртины пионерных растений на рыхлых материалах вулканических извержений п-ова Камчатка и Курильских о-вов. Обсуждаются их конкурентные взаимоотношения.

Seed morphology and morphometric parameters (length, width), germination conditions and response of seeds to deep freezing in liquid nitrogen (LN) in 7 food and medicinal plant species of Russian Far East have been studied. The analysis of seed viability estimated from their laboratory germination showed that deep freezing does not cause seed mortality. The response of the seeds to the LN storage has been shown to be species-specific. The freezing did not affect the seed viability as compared with control in the species studied excepting Hylotelephium triphyllum seeds. The germination of these seeds in the control was about 85%, and increased to 100% after cryopreservation. The results are necessary when creating a bank of plant gene resources.

Plant morphology and seed germination have been studied in several species joining monodominant beds of pioneer plant species on loose volcanic matter on the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands. The competition of these species is discussed.

A seed response to cryopreservation has been studied in 11 endemic plant species from the Russian Far East to determine the possibility of their long-term storage. It has been shown that the cryogenic treatment does not kill seeds. The viability of 10 species did not decrease (or even increased) after their cryogenic storage. We have not revealed any deviations in the development of plants germinated from seeds stored at an extremely low temperature (−196°C). To monitor germination after long-term storage, procedures of seed germination under laboratory conditions have been developed. The results of this study contribute to the creation of low-temperature seed banks, able to conserve and restore a floral biological diversity.

An analysis of seed germination pattern has revealed species-specific responses to water salinity (0, 25, 50, and 100% sea water vs. distilled water) in plants growing on sea coasts of the Russian Far East and in areas remote from the sea. The results show that coastal species are less sensitive to the adverse effect of sea water in the above concentrations, but only the seeds of halophytes from the family Chenopodiaceae are capable of germinating in 100% sea water. The relationship between the habitats of plant species and individual specificity of seed germination is discussed.