First Seed Production of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle in St. Petersburg
Gennady A. Firsov, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Senior Researcher
Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, gennady_firsov@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6611-5199
Kirill G. Tkachenko, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Senior Researcher
Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, kigatka@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6841-6561
Alexandra V. Volchanskaya, Leading Agronomist
Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, sandalet@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7117-8875
Alexandra A. Loginova, Senior Research Assistant
Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, lusikss.com@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9556-5640
Abstract
Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, family Simarubaceae Lindl., has been known in the Peter the Great Botanical Garden on Aptekarsky Island in St. Petersburg since 1861. The current collection includes two plants: one of seed origin (planted in 1990), the other of vegetative origin (an offshoot of a plant planted in 1990). At the age of 35, this single-stemmed tree is 12.0 m tall with a trunk diameter of 31 cm. The first flowering was noted in 2018. In 2024, under conditions of global warming and an abnormally hot growing season, fruits were noted for the first time in the history of introduction, and in the spring of 2025, seed offspring of its own reproduction were obtained. Ailanthus altissima is a valuable ornamental tree for urban landscaping. Cultivation in northwestern Russia has so far been hampered by the lack of a local seed base. Obtaining high-quality (full), viable seeds will help expand the cultivated range of Ailanthus altissima northward and enrich the region’s dendroflora.
Key words
Plant introduction, seed quality, X-ray analysis, Peter the Great Botanical Garden.
Acknowledgments: The work was completed under a state assignment on the topic “History of Creation, Status, and Development Potential of Living Plant Collections of the Peter the Great Botanical Garden, Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences”. Registration number 124020100075-2. The authors are grateful to the reviewers for their valuable comments and edits, which contributed to improving the quality of this article
For citation:
Firsov G. A., Tkachenko K. G., Volchanskaya A. V., Loginova A. A. First Seed Production of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle in St. Petersburg. Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal, 2026, no. 2 (58), pp. 88—98. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2026.58.5.
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