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Abstract:Recently, the cultivation of plants combining decorative and utilitarian qualities has been gaining in popularity. These plants give tasty fruits of high biological value. Saskatoon is little known in Poland. It is mainly used as an ornamental plant for its flowers and leaves that change colour. The aim of the study was to characterise three species of plants of Amelanchier (A. alnifolia, A. ovalis, A. spicata). The plants grown in the Research Stations (Danowo and Rajkowo), located near Szczecin, were examined with respect to the size and colour of their leaves and fruit quality; size, firmness, chemical composition, particularly with regard to the content of bioflavonoids. It was found that Saskatoon fruits had very low acidity and vitamin C content. A. ovalis had the smallest fruits with the highest content of polyphenols. A. spicata was characterised by the smallest and greenest leaves and relatively big, firm fruits with high extract content and low content of polyphenols and organic acids. The plants of the examined plant species of Amelanchier are suitable for cultivation in Szczecin and do not indicate any frost damage nor symptoms of disease or pest infestation. The fruits are valuable source of polyphenols and, due to their low content of organic acids, have a mild flavour. The above qualities make them suitable for consumption in the raw state, as distinguished from chokeberries that are very similar in appearance.

Description anD assessment of chemical properties of fruits of the chocolate vine (five-leaf akebia) AkebiA quinAtA (houtt.) Decne anD DeaD man's fingers DecAisneA insignis (griff.) hokk. f. & thomson, grown in szczecin anD in the arboretum in glinna (northwestern polanD) ireneusz ochmian 1 , marcin kubus 2 , tianshu guan 3 1 chair of horticulture 2 chair of Dendrology and landscape architecture west pomeranian university of technology in szczecin 3 liaoning academy of agricultural sciences, shengyang, china abstract Originating from East Asia, the five-leaf akebia Akebia quinata and dead man's fingers Decaisnea insignis are rarely cultivated in Poland. In China, the fruits of these shrubs are a delicacy, and their skins, rich in saponins and flavonoids; are used in folk medicine. The natural range of occurrence of Akebia quinata and Decaisnea insignis is in East Asia, and the earliest mention of their cultivation in Europe dates back to 1945. Fully ripe fruits for the study were collected in September and October. The determinations included the size, color, reflactance and chemical composition (fresh berries-soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, total polyphenol, L-ascorbic acid, nitrates and nitrites; frozen berries-phenolics and mineral composition) of fruits harvested from shrubs grown in Szczecin and in the Arboretum in Glinna near Szczecin. In the climatic conditions of Szczecin, these species can flourish and produce ripe fruit. Akebia quinata bears significantly heavier fruits (72.1 g) than Decaisnea insignis fruits (31 g), despite similar length of fruits from both species. The fruits of Decaisnea insignis are more acidic (0.72 g 100 mL-1) and have a higher content of polyphenols (567 mg 100 mL-1), while the ones of Akebia quinata contain more extract (16.8%) and L-ascorbic acid (37.5 mg 100 mL-1). Deca

The selection of species which show the highest possible tolerance to negative habitat conditions, also among plants of foreign origin, is a pressing issue. One of the species we would like to recommend for planting in urban areas is the white mulberry species (Morus alba) due to both its outstanding adaptability and its ecosystem services. There are no reliable studies on the distribution of this species in urbanized areas in Poland, nor sufficient analyses of the methods of its renewal, both deliberate and spontaneous spread through self-seeding. Collecting data on the population of an alien species within individual regions and forecasting potential changes in the population’s size and structure, as well as its possible impacts on other organisms, is one of the basic measures to reduce biological invasions, which is one of the six priority objectives of the European Biodiversity Strategy and an element of the Strategy on Invasive Alien Species. The aim of this study was to determine the size and structure of the white mulberry population in the city of Wrocław and to analyse the relationship between this structure and intensity of anthropopressure and thermal conditions.