Tulipa biflora Pall.

Kubentayev, Serik A., Baasanmunkh, Shukherdorj, Alibekov, Daniyar T., Tojibaev, Komiljon Sh., Nyamgerel, Nudkhuu, Ivashchenko, Anna A., Tsegmed, Zagarjav, Epiktetov, Vladimir G., Sitpayeva, Gulnara T., Izbastina, Klara S., Idrissova, Zhansaya T., Mukhtubayeva, Saule K., Abubakirova, Nurganym B., Gil, Hee-Young & Choi, Hyeok Jae, 2024, Revisiting the genus Tulipa (Liliaceae) in Kazakhstan, the country with the richest tulip diversity worldwide, PhytoKeys 250, pp. 95-163 : 95-163

Tulipa biflora Pall. , Reise Russ. Reich. 3: 727 (1776).

Fig. 11

Type.

Russia • Described from southern Russia , Pallas (lectotype BW 000528948 ) [lectotype designated by Eker et al. 2014] .

General distribution.

Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (Northern Ustyurt), China (northern part), the south of Russia, Transcaucasia, and Crimea ( Tojibaev et al. 2022).

Distribution in Kazakhstan and habitat.

Aktobe, Aral region, Betpak-Dala, Bukeev, Caspian region, Eastern Upland, Karkaraly, Mugojary, Northern Ustyrt, Turgay, Western Upland, and Zaysan. It grows on solonetz, clay steppe, and desert areas and less often on the stony and rubbly slopes of hills.

Conservation status.

The IUCN conservation status of this species requires assessment. It is included in the red book of Kazakhstan (Category I).

Phenology.

Flowering in April – May; fruiting in May – June.

Notes.

The species was described in 1776 by P. S. Pallas from specimens collected from the Caspian deserts. The location of the type specimens is unknown ( Ivashchenko and Belyalov 2019). According to the latest system of Tulipa ( Christenhusz et al. 2013) , many species from the section Biflores A. D. Hall ex Veldkamp & Zonn. , including T. buhseana and T. sogdiana , are considered synonyms of the T. biflora s. l. complex. However, we propose that T. buhseana and T. sogdiana should be considered independent taxa based on their complex morphological characteristics, ecology, and distribution range. In addition, these taxa were arranged in a separate clade from T. biflora in the phylogenetic tree (Fig. 3 ). The southern boundaries of the T. biflora range in Kazakhstan from west to east pass through the Northern Ustyurt, Aral region, Sarysu region sands, and the northern Balkhash region. Perezhogin (2013) considered the reports of T. biflora from Tobol-Ishim and Turgay erroneous. In his opinion, T. biflora was replaced with T. auliekolica . Given that it is impossible to distinguish T. biflora from T. auliekolica based on herbarium material, it is impossible to confirm or deny this statement.

Figures

Figure 3. Phylogenetic tree of the Tulipa species based on the ITS sequence using the maximum parsimony method. Each subgenus is indicated as follows: Orithyia in yellow, Eriostemones in blue, and Tulipa in green. The endemic Tulipa species are indicated by E in red color.

Figure 11. Tulipa biflora in Kazakhstan A, B general habits C, D flower E tepals F gynoecium G stamens H bulb and bulb sheath. (Photos: A – H by S. Kubentayev).