Alexander Ivanovich Malzev is one of the foremost collectors and founders of the VIR herbarium collection (WIR). To develop the original system of Euavena section, he collected over 16,000 herbarium specimens and studied Russian and foreign herbarium collections of botanical gardens, museums and universities. During the inventory of historical collections of the Herbarium of cultivated plants of the world, their wild relatives, and weeds (VIR Herbarium, WIR), some authentic herbarium specimens collected by A.I. Malzev and cited in his monograph have been identified. In taxa protologues, the author cited only the origin of the specimen. Many specimens were initially represented by seeds and studied and herbarized by A.I. Malzev later when planted at experiment stations. We are publishing nomenclatural types of 40 taxa found in the VIR Herbarium (WIR), which were described, and validly and effectively published by A.I. Malzev. Lectotypes for 15 taxa were selected by B.R. Baum (1977). We have designated 10 lectotypes.

In Russia, VIR is the only holder of a collection of guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.) – an annual leguminous plant originating from India and Pakistan and used for forage, green manure and as a vegetable. Since after World War II, it got application as an industrial crop. This leguminous plant has a large endosperm with galactomannan providing guar gum. Variability of morphological traits in guar accessions in the VIR collection was evaluated in protected ground conditions of the Pushkin and Pavlovsk Laboratories of VIR in 2017-2019. According to morphological traits description, a method of guar varieties DUS testing was developed. Pod peculiarities provided a basis for differentiating between vegetable and seed/forage guar accessions. The pod size, pod horn length and absence of pubescence were used as the differentiating criteria. On the basis of pod structure, a subdivision of guar into two intraspecific groups, that is the vegetable and grain/forage groups, was suggested. The grain/forage group from Northwestern India and Pakistan demonstrates the traits of wild type, while the vegetable guar has recessive traits, so the former group may be considered as the original one. Dwarf American cultivars represent a separate group of cultivars; yellow-grain cultivars originating from Pakistan and vegetable Australian cultivars from the VIR collection are also distinguished as different morphotypes. A possible intraspecific diversity development of the crop is under discussion.

Transl. of: «International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. Ed. 9. Scripta Horticulturae. 2016;18:I-XVII+1-190». Chukhina, S.R. Miftakhova, V.I. Dorofeуev (transl.).