Moscow State University Botanical Gardens

Wednesday, June 22

We met Nina, a PhD student at Moscow Main Botanical Garden, this morning. We took the metro to Moscow State University. Inna Filatova and Katya Romanova were waiting for us at the MSU Botanical Garden. It was great to see Inna again! She traveled to the US last July for the Colorado/Utah trip. Katya is a researcher that studies the anatomy of fruits and also gives tours at the garden. The garden is open only to guided tours.

Nina, Inna, Ben, Mariel

 

There are several collections of ornamental plants, including iris, peony and lilac collections. There are also 200 species of rare plants on display. The main building of MSU is the backdrop to these gardens. It is one of the “seven sisters”, the seven tallest buildings of Moscow.

 

 

 Main Building of Moscow State University

 

Peony collection

 



Hepatica nobilis - rare in the Moscow region
 

The rock garden is one hectare and beds are arranged into the mountain ranges of Europe and Asia. It has 800 species, which are mostly wild-sourced. We were impressed with the Karelian granite used, which came from Finland. The granite was most dramatic near the pond, where it had been formed into a hill.

 

 

Pond in Rock Garden

 

We ate lunch with Inna, Nina and Katya, and took a quick trip into the arboretum to see the only magnolia species native to Russia, Magnolia hypoleuca, native to the Kuril Islands in the far east of the country.

 

Magnolia hypoleuca

 

 

We took a bus with Inna and Nina to the metro and headed toward Prospekt Mira street. Inna left at an earlier station to go to a field station where she is teaching students. With Nina, we arrived at the Apothecary Garden of Moscow State University. Our guide was Anna Demidova, a geobotanist who studies plant communities in Vietnam. This is the oldest garden in Russia, founded 310 years ago by a decree of Peter the Great! We saw some very old trees. A 300 year-old Larix sibirica, planted by Peter the Great, has been struck by lightning, but is still alive. Near the pond stand 300 year-old Salix alba trees.

 

Just after entering the Apothecary Garden

 

Salix alba

Bonsai displayed in pool

 



 





The Garden also features a Subtropical House, which was closed for renovation, and a Tropical House. There were some interesting old tropical plants, including a 300 year-old Cycas circinalis and a 76 year-old Epiphyllum, hanging in a cactus display that had 200 flowers on it this spring!

 

 Cycas circinalis

Cephalotus follicularis, a pitcher plant from SW Australia

 

A new garden of medicinal herbs and a conifer garden have been completed in the past five years. Though the garden is small, it has many interesting historical features and plant collections.

 

View of the Medicinal Garden

After dinner with Anna and Nina, we took the metro back to our hotel. Tomorrow we travel south from Moscow to explore the Lipetsk region.