On April 2, 2026, at the M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the NAS of Ukraine the ceremonial unveiling of a memorial plaque honoring the memory of the outstanding orchidologist scientist, director of the Garden from 1988 to 2004, Tetiana Mykhailivna Cherevchenko (01/11/1929 – 06/25/2017) took place.
At the opening ceremony, together with the Botanical Garden team, participated the Vice President of the NAS of Ukraine, Head of the Section of Chemical and Biological Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Volodymyr Radchenko, academician-secretary of the Department of General Biology of the NAS of Ukraine, director of the Institute of Hydrobiology of the NAS of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Serhii Afanasiev, and scientific secretary of the Section of Chemical and Biological Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine, Candidate of Biological Sciences Yevhenii Rutian.
The unveiling of the memorial plaque is a tribute of great, bright respect to the memory of Tetiana Mykhailivna and recognition of her significant contribution to the development of domestic biological science. This event is intended to preserve the historical memory of the outstanding scientist and to pass on her scientific and life values to future generations of researchers, for whom her figure remains an example of dedication to science, professionalism, and service to Ukraine.
Reference.
T.M. Cherevchenko – Doctor of Biological Sciences, professor, corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, laureate of the V.Ya. Yuriev Prize (1982), M.H. Kholodnyi Prize (1994), V.I. Vernadsky Prize (2001). Awarded the Orders of Princess Olga III (1998) and II degree (2008).
In 1952, T.M. Cherevchenko graduated from the Faculty of Biology and Soil Science of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv State University. After graduation, she worked at the dendropark "Oleksandriia" (city of Bila Tserkva).
In 1965, Tetiana Mykhailivna moved to Kyiv and began working in the department of flowering and greenhouse plants of the Botanical Garden. In 1969, she defended her candidate’s dissertation, and in 1985 – her doctoral dissertation on the topic "Tropical orchids. Morphological and biological study and introduction into closed ground culture."
She was the initiator and first head of the department of tropical and subtropical plants established in April 1974, and from 1975 became deputy director for scientific work. She worked on replenishing collections of tropical and subtropical plants. Today, this collection is a pride of the Botanical Garden and since 2001, together with the collection of sterile cultures of tropical plants of the biotechnology laboratory, it has been classified as a National Heritage of Ukraine.
Her scientific interests are vast – including plant biodiversity conservation, greenhouses of old Ukrainian estates as centers for the introduction of tropical and subtropical plants into Ukraine, space biology, and the history of the institution she led. Tetiana Mykhailivna’s greatest passion was orchids. T.M. Cherevchenko was a leading scientist in the new branch of experimental botany – orchidology, a recognized specialist in the study of orchid biology. Orchids for Tetiana Mykhailivna were not just an object of research. She regarded them as wonderful mysterious beings inhabiting the Earth, which scientists must preserve for future generations.
From 1977 to 1986, T.M. Cherevchenko participated in four expeditions on the research vessel "Akademik Vernadsky" to the natural habitats of tropical plants – countries of Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America; in 1988, there was an expedition to Cuba; from 1989 to 2009, five field studies in Vietnam. Participation in expeditions allowed Tetiana Mykhailivna and colleagues to study the biological and ecological-cenotic features of tropical plants in their natural habitats. Tetiana Mykhailivna researched microclonal propagation of orchids, developed a modified medium for orchid seed germination, and used orchids as model objects to study the effect of microgravity on the growth of higher plants under weightlessness conditions.
In 1988, T.M. Cherevchenko was appointed director of the Central Research Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (now the M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the NAS of Ukraine). As director during the years of the development and formation of the Ukrainian state and the associated economic hardships, she managed with great effort not only to preserve but also to replenish plant collections (including the Orchidaceae family thanks to expeditions to Vietnam). Comprehensive studies of biological diversity also expanded.
In 1992, T.M. Cherevchenko received the academic title of professor, and in 1995 was elected corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine. T.M. Cherevchenko was a member of the Council of the Central Space Agency of Ukraine, the European and American Orchid Societies. In 2014, Tetiana Mykhailivna was awarded a commemorative medal by the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) for her significant contribution to the development of creative cooperation between the Ukrainian institution and the Institute of Tropical Biology of Vietnam.
T.M. Cherevchenko is the author of over 350 scientific works, including 12 monographs. She was the chief editor of the scientific journal "Plant Introduction," chair of the Council of Botanical Gardens and Dendroparks of Ukraine. From January 1, 2005, until her last days, T.M. Cherevchenko was the Honorary Director of the Botanical Garden.
Tetiana Mykhailivna Cherevchenko created a unique scientific school of orchidology. Her work is worthily continued by numerous students. As a scientific supervisor and educator, she formed her own scientific school of plant introduction. Under her guidance, numerous candidates and doctors of sciences were trained, who continue to develop the research directions she initiated.
These years are anniversary years for the tropical plant collections of the Botanical Garden – as their gathering and compilation began immediately after the end of World War II. The tropical plant collection celebrates its 80th anniversary during wartime. The department of tropical and subtropical plants and the entire Botanical Garden team make great efforts to preserve and multiply the heritage of their predecessors. This winter was extremely difficult for the Botanical Garden’s greenhouses, but critical losses were avoided. Guests and all interested could see this during a tour of the greenhouses with the head of the department of tropical and subtropical plants, Doctor of Biological Sciences Roman Ivannikov. Symbolically, these days coincide with the peak flowering of the azalea and camellia collections.
According to information from the M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the NAS of Ukraine
