Robert E. Regel was the first to comprehensively analyze the diversity of cultivated barley in Russia and identify more than fifty new subvarieties. Some of them he published in two articles: «Barleys with smooth awns» (1908) and «The most important varieties and races of barleys in Russia» (1910). The present study was carried out because no one has yet conducted a search for authentic herbarium specimens and lectotypified the Hordeum taxa described by R.E. Regel. We have found that the main collection of the Herbarium of cultivated plants of the world, their wild relatives and weeds (WIR) contains the authentic herbarium specimens of nine barley taxa described by R.E. Regel, namely Hordeum distichon var. erectum subvar. anglicum R. Regel, H. distichon var. nigricans subvar. vilmorenianum R. Regel, H. distichon var. nutans subvar. europeicum R. Regel, H. distichon var. nutans subvar. turkestanicum R. Regel, H. distichon var. nutans subvar. сolchicum R. Regel, H. vulgare var. nigrum subvar. taganrocense R. Regel, H. vulgare var. pallidum subvar. lapponicum R. Regel, H. vulgare var. pallidum subvar. praecox R. Regel, and H. vulgare var. ricotense subvar. kiarchanum R. Regel. Since the available herbarium sheets contain later reproductions of the collection specimens cited in the protolog, these herbarium specimens were chosen by us as neotypes.

Eight species of the genus Ribes L. (Grossulariaceae) grow on the territory of Yakutia. Ribes dikuscha Fisch. ex Turcz., R. fragrans Pall., R. glabrum (Hedl.) Sennikov, R. nigrum L., R. palczewskii (Jancz.) Pojark., R. pauciflorum Turcz. ex Pojark., R. procumbens Pall., R. triste Pall. Wild representatives of the genus Ribes may be of interest for breeding along with cultivated forms and varieties. To identify the observed regularities and ecogeographical features of wild currants distribution in the territory of Yakutia, dot maps were constructed to represent generalized information about the locations of each species, gathered from herbarium collections (SASY, WIR, LE, VBGI, VLA, NSK, MW, MHA) and from the published literature data. The produced dot maps make it possible to understand the main regularities of species distribution in the territory of Yakutia and develop the most optimal routes for collecting plant material for future breeding work.

During the floristic research in the Emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2017–2022, we made new findings that complement the species composition of the flora of vascular plants in the territory of the Emirate and the UAE as a whole. The article provides data on 17 new ergasiophygophytes – cultivated and running wild plant species, alien to the Emirate of Fujairah: Pseuderanthemum maculatum (G. Lodd.) I.M. Turner var. atropurpurem (W. Bull) V.V. Byalt et M.V. Korshunov comb. nov. (P. atropurpureum (W. Bull) L.H. Bailey) (Acanthaceae), Jatropha gossypiifolia L., J. integerrima Jacq., Manihot esculenta Crantz (Euphorbiaceae), Linum usitatissimum L. (Linaceae), Gossypium barbadense L., Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (Malvaceae), Melaleuca viminalis (Sol. ex Gaertn.) Byrnes (Callistemon viminalis (Sol. ex Gaertn.) G. Don) (Myrtaceae), Physalis angulata L., P. peruviana L., Solanum melongena L., S. tuberosum L. (Solanaceae), Allium cepa L., A. sativum L. (Alliaceae), Asparagus aethiopicus L. (A. sprengeri Regel) (Asparagaceae), Tradescanthia pallida (Rose) D.R. Hunt (Setcreasea pallida Rose) (Commelinaceae), Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertner (Poaceae). Most of these species have also never been previously listed in the Arabian floras and checklists as alien adventive species.

The northern pika (Ochotona hyperborea Pallas) is a small herbivorous animal from the Ochtonidae family, widely distributed in the mountains of Northeast Asia. Despite its small size, the northern pika plays a noticeable role in the transformation of organic substances of biocenoses. An essential feature of these mammals is the procurement of plant food for the winter period. The food ration of the animals is very diverse and depends on the structure of the surrounding vegetation. It includes aerial parts of shrubs, sub‑shrubs, herbaceous plants, ferns, Equisetum species, rarely trees, bushy lichens, fungi and very rarely mosses. According to our analysis of the literature data, more than 220 species of vascular plants are included in the diet of the northern pika in Northeast Asia. During a survey of the northern spurs of the Chuvansky Range in the basin of the Ozernoe Gorlo river (Anadyr river basin), 14 species of vascular plants, 8 species of bushy lichens and 1 species of moss were identified in winter stocks of the northern pika on 2 terrain areas differing in landscape and vegetation structure. Salix pulchra, S. berberifolia subsp. tschuktschorum, Chamaenerion latifolium, Vaccinium uliginosum subsp. microphyllum, Empetrum nigrum, Ledum palustre subsp. Decumbens are of great importance as the preferred food of northern pika in this territory. In addition, the Dryopteris fragrans fern and more rarely Betula nana, are harvested quite sustainably in one of the sections of a stone scree (stone run) surrounded by a Pinus pumila community. The role of bushy lichens and mosses in the nutrition of the northern pika needs to be clarified.

The history of the establishment, formation and development of the laboratory of biochemistry at the Krymsk Experiment Breeding Station (Krymsk EBS), a branch of VIR, is highlighted, and the need to resume its work is substantiated. Memories of veteran scientists, archival and reference materials were used to show the relevance of resuming the interrupted activities of the laboratory to study the biochemical characteristics of fruit, vegetable, berry crops and grapes. The literature data on the stage‑by‑stage development of the laboratory in the period from 1953 to the present time and the results of its activities are presented. The article also drew on annual scientific reports covering a longterm period from 1954 to 2003, on articles in scientific publications of that period and up to 2021, as well as on joint research with biochemical laboratories of other institutes. Historical analysis makes it possible not only to highlight the achievements of the previous years, to assess the level of biochemical analytical work and research on collection accessions, but also to plan the further work of the laboratory, taking into account the new requirements to modern crop cultivation technologies and to varieties for the processing industry.