Results: Russia and Other Former Soviet Republics

As in the Balkans, the regions of Crimea (Ukraine), the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia), and Turkestan (present day Central Asian republics of Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) have experienced significant political re-organization with the dissolution of first the Russian and Turkish empires and recently the Soviet Union. Moreover, translations of place names from the original Cyrillic alphabet into English often appear under different spellings on maps published in western European languages.

Arceuthobium oxycedri has long been known from numerous hosts in Crimea, the Caucasus, and Turkestan. Reported native and exotic hosts (Table 1 and Table 2) are Juniperus excelsa Bieb., J. oblonga Knight & Perry, J. oxycedrus, J. pseudosabina Fisher & Meyer, J. sabina L., J. semiglobosa Regel, J. thurifera L., J. polycarpos, J. virginiana L., Chamaecyparis funebris Endlicher, Cupressus arizonica, C. lusitanica Mill., C. lusitanica var. benthamii, C. macnabiana A. Murry, C. macrocarpa Gordon, and Platycladus orientalis (Botschantev 1953; Fataliev 1987; Hawksworth and Wiens 1996; Isikov 1986; Isikov and Zaharenko 1988; Lazarev and Grigorov 1980; Ovchinnikov 1968; Zefirov 1955).

Ukraine

Significant populations of juniper mistletoe occur in the mountains of Crimea (Table 11, Map 8) on Juniperus oxycedrus and on relict populations of J. excelsa (Lazarev and Grigorov 1980). Hawksworth and Wiens (1996) report collections from Taura. This name apparently refers to the Taurians, the name of a civilization that occupied Crimea 3000 years ago and is an old name for part of the Crimean Peninsula. Other reports cite the region as Jaltensis, Yalta, and Sudak. Lazarev and Grigorov (1980) identify specific locations at the Batlliman Natural Preserve, Cape Martyan area, Livadij (perhaps same as Lyasni reported by Voronihin 1908), and Yaltinsk Mountain Forest Reserve (elevation 400­500 m). Turrill (1920) adds Mt. Pertsch as a collection site. Interest and attention over the juniper mistletoe continues in this region due to recent work by Isikov (1986) and Iskov and Zakhareno (1988).

Russia

Collection sites for A. oxycedri in Russia are confined to a narrow strip of land between the Black Sea and the Caucuses Mountains and include Tamanskij Bay, Anapa, Novorriysk, Marykh Pass, North Ossetia, and Avarsky Koisu (Dagestan) (Kaupush and Tavasiev 1979; Voronihin 1908) (Table 11, Map 8).

Caucasus--Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

There are reports of Arceuthobium oxycedri from the Caucasus region by Kaupush and Tavasiev (1979) and Voronihin (1908), from Armenia by Hawksworth and Wiens (1996) and Takhtadijan (1973), from Azerbaijan by Fataliev (1987), and from Georgia by Turrill (1920) (Table 11, Map 8 and Map 9).

Takhtadijan (1973) describes the distribution of plants in Armenia by 12 floristic provinces and reports the occurrence of Arceuthobium oxycedri in low to medium elevation zones in three of these provinces: Idjevan in northeastern Armenia, Erevan in the southwest, and Zangezur in the south (Map 9). Reported hosts are J. oblonga and J. sabina. Other reported collection sites from Armenia are Ritzagadsch (Turrill 1920) and "Rossiea Siedlitz Riltzagash" (Hawksworth and Wiens 1996). Rossiea may be a reference to Russia; Siedlitz may be the name of botanist who made this collection. The site Alliper Dagh given by Hawksworth and Wiens (1996) could be a reference to Alidag, a 3135 m mountain south of Kars and north of the Aras River in what is today eastern Turkey (Map 8).

The collection site Elizavetpolskii Creek reported by Voronihin (1908) is near the community known presently as Ganca in northern Azerbaijan (Map 8). This community was originally known as Ganja; it was renamed Elizavetpol by the Russians and later called Kirovabad. Today it appears on maps under various alternative spellings including Gonja, Gyanja, and Gäncä (Allen and Muratoff 1953).

Central Asia--Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan, and Tajikistan

Portions of the central Asian countries are located in the western Himalayas and contain extensive juniper forests (Figure 2). Arceuthobium oxycedri collection sites are reported by Botschantev (1953); Hawksworth and Wiens (1996), Ovchinnikov (1968), and Voronihin (1908) (Table 11, Map 10). Locations not found include: Burogan River, Kusavli Sai, and Mausarif (Ovchinnikov 1968); and Mossarif (Voronihin 1908). The latter two collections may refer to Mazar-I-Sharif, a large city in northern Afghanistan (Map 11) near the border of Uzbekistan.

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Title: RMRS-RN-11WWW: Results: Russia and Other Former Soviet Republics
Electronic Publish Date: September 2001
Last Update: August 20, 2008