The collection of economic valuable plants of the family Lamiaceae of the Donetsk Botanical Garden contains 58 species of aromatic medicinal plants, including 5 official and 28 species indicated as pharmacopoeial. Among the forage and medicinal plants used in veterinary medicine, there are 5 pharmacopoeial species. Herbaceous polycarpics, promising for cultivation in the open ground predominate in the collections. Medical, biological and phytochemical studies of some species, namely Agastache foeniculum (Pursh.) Kuntze, Ziziphora bungeana Lam., Thymus serpillum L. have shown the prospects for their use as potential sources of herbal medicines. The phytoresource potential of the collection of economic valuable plants of the Donetsk Botanical Garden has broad scientific and practical importance in terms of biodiversity conservation and enriching the region with useful plants of the world flora.

The current state of the collection fund of living plants in the Donetsk Botanical Garden and their bioresource significance, the fundamental scientific research areas on adaptation and acclimatization of world flora plants in the conditions of the steppe zone of Russia were analyzed. The directions are given in the research result application and use of collections in educational and environmental education activities, being the most important modern trend in the work of botanical gardens.

Some indicators of phytocenoses were investigated in the artificial steppe laid out 50 years ago in the area of the Donetsk Botanical Garden in comparison to those of different variants of natural steppe areas (petrophytic, typical and cretaceous) of Donbass. A comparative analysis has shown significant differences between the artificial steppe and natural areas in terms of species diversity and species saturation. Floristic diversity of the artificial steppe site is less compared to natural sites, but its species saturation is on the contrary greater. This fact is associated with the man-induced nature of vegetation formation in this area, that confirms its functional purpose – to be a pool for the conservation and reproduction of steppe plant species.

Two autochthonous species such as Noccaea macrantha (Lipsky) F. K. Mey, Phragmites tzvelevii Val. N. Tikhom. and one adventitious species, namely Tinantia erecta (Jacq.) Schetdl. are given for the first time for the flora of Donbass. The original texts of herbarium labels are presented and comments on them are cited.

Based on the own photographic materials published on the Plantarium and iNaturalist websites, 14 species of autochthonous plants are presented for the first time for the flora of the Luhansk People’s Republic, 8 of them are new to the flora of Donbass. Brief information is given on the locations, nature of habitats, and population numbers. A significant proportion (50 %) are rare species located in the Donbass on the border of the species range. The data obtained can be useful for compiling regional floristic summaries and studies on the species composition, distribution and dynamics of the flora of the Donetsk region.

For the time of existence of the Donetsk Botanical Garden, the spontaneous growth in its territory of 35 species, included at various times in the lists of plants subjected to special protection, has been registered. The spontaneous population loci of 11 ones out of them have disappeared by now. But most of the species are present in the collections and expositions, and some actively spread over the territory of the Botanical Garden and «go into the wild» beyond it. The preserved populations of the species native to this territory are of particular value for protection, namely those of: Crocus reticulatus Steven ex Adams, Bellevalia speciosa Woronow ex Grossh., Calophaca wolgarica (L. f.) DC., Delphinium sergii Wissjul., Stipa capillata L., Stipa lessingiana Trin. & Rupr., Tulipa quercetorum Klokov & Zoz, Tulipa ophyophylla Klokov & Zoz., Ranunculus auricomus L., Corydalis solida (L.) Clairv.

The article provides information about the emergence of a direction in biology – industrial botany. The authors dwell in detail on the personality of doctor of biological science, professor E.N. Kondratyuk, who made a significant contribution to the development of industrial botany in Donbass. The main theoretical and applied tasks of industrial botany and ways to solve them are formulated.

An inventory and analysis of the alien element of the flora of the arid basins of Kabardino-Balkaria (Central Caucasus) was conducted for the first time. 67 species from 50 genera and 20 families were identified. The largest number of alien species was recorded in the families Asteraceae (22 %), Chenopodiaceae (16.3 %), Brassicaceae (14.9 %), Poaceae (7.4 %) and Caryophyllaceae (6 %), which account for about 70 % of the total number of species. Therophytes are absolutely predominant among life forms (78 %). Using the example of the aggressive invasive transforming species Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., the scale of its distribution in the republic was traced.

The article provides data on one of the most aggressive alien species of vascular plants of the PriokskoTerrasny State Nature Biosphere Reserve – Caragana arborescens Lam. Before the establishment of reservation conditions (1945) this species was used in forestry as an accompanying crop during pine planting. Currently, C. arborescens spreads independently being found in 7 % (347 hectares) of the reserve’s territory, mainly on the sands of the first Oka river terrace. In the «Doly» meadow the invasion occurs into relict steppe phytocenoses. Area monitoring has been established for plots of continuous distribution of C. arborescens in the undergrowth.

The paper presents results of a modern inventory of flora of the Kemerovo region and data on the study of the alien component the flora of Kuzbass. The flora of vascular plants of the Kemerovo region is represented by 1733 species, its alien fraction including 240 species (more than 13 % of the total composition. For each of 6 floristic districts of the region, the number and percentage of aboriginal and alien species are specified, including «original» species (growing only in this area). Invasive status of the species is analyzed. For 8 species, its change is recommended.