CULTIVARS COLLECTION OF GYMNOSPERMOUS PLANTS IN NIKITSKY BOTANICAL GARDEN
The paper informs about formation and composition of cultivars collection containing 40 species of gymnospermous plants in Nikitsky Botanical Garden. As a result of collaborating with botanical institutions of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and CIS countries, as well as studying interspecies variability of species widely cultivated in Crimea, the collection has grown from 69 up to 162 cultivars for the last fifteen years. The paper also gives a brief morphological description of 17 newly found cultivars of <i>Cedrus, Cupressus and Pinus</i> species, outlining the prospects of their culture in the south of Russia. On the basis of nursery data in EU countries the paper shows perspectives of expanding gene pool collection in botanical gardens of Crimea.