Tulipa mogoltavica Popov & Vved.

Tojibaev, Komiljon, Dekhkonov, Davron, Ergashov, Ibrokhimjon, Sun, Hang, Deng, Tao & Yusupov, Ziyoviddin, 2022, The synopsis of the genus Tulipa (Liliaceae) in Uzbekistan, Phytotaxa 573 (2), pp. 163-214 : 189

3.2. Tulipa mogoltavica Popov & Vved. in Opred. Rast. Sred. Azii 2: 318. (1971)

Type:— TAJIKISTAN. Tian-Shan Occidentalis : ad declivia saxosa montium Mogoltau in angustiis fl. Schunluk, 22 April 1927, I. Granitov 483 (holotype TASH000513 ! isotypes: BM, H-1200899) .

Description:—Bulb ovoid, 2–4 cm thick; tunic more or less produced, coriaceous, blackish-brown, hairy on the inside, more densely at apex and at base; stem 10–30 cm long, the upper part of stem and peduncle pubescent; leaves 3–4, sub approximate, spreading, curled, glaucous, with violet dashes and spots, more or less pubescent, ciliate, rather gradually decreasing in size up the stem, not exceeding the flower; basal leaf oblong-lanceolate to widely oblong, 2–7 cm broad; flower solitary; perigone segments bright red, 3–10 cm long, abruptly acuminate to a short pubescent cusp, with a black yellow-margined or without yellow margin basal blotch; outer segments pubescent on the back, elliptic-rhomboidal, reflexed in the upper part, slightly shorter than the triangular-obovate more or less connivent inner segments; stamens two-fifths the length of perigone; filaments glabrous, black, flattened, triangular in section; anthers blackish-violet, twice the length of the filaments; pollen dark brown-purple; ovary slightly shorter than stamens, pale green, with subsessile stigma; capsule ca. 2 cm broad, 3–4 cm long.

General distribution:—South-western Tian-Shan ( Tajikistan, Uzbekistan).

Distribution in Uzbekistan:—I-1 the Western Tian- Shan district (I-1-d Kurama region).

Phenology:—Flowering: April–May; fruiting: May–June.

Ecology:—Clayely and stony slopes in foothills and lower mountain zone, 500–1600 m a.s.l.

Etymology:—The species is named after the range Mogoltau (south-west spurs of Tian-Shan, Tajikistan), where it has been discovered.

Note:—All known records of this tulip in Uzbekistan are based on the herbarium collections of the XX Century. The taxonomical status of Tulipa mogoltavica is questionable because the morphological differences between T. mogoltavica and T. greigii are not clear, but these taxa are more or less isolated geographically and plants of T. mogoltavica are smaller than T. greigii . Many authors ( Hall 1940, Wilford 2006, Christenhusz et al. 2013), considered this tulip as a synonym of Tulipa greigii . However, Zonneveld (2009), based on the study of original materials from locus classicus (i.e. Mogoltau Range), showed differences in their amount of nuclear DNA, between these two species. A survey of populations and further comparative studies of T. mogoltavica and T. greigii are strongly required.

Specimens examined:— UZBEKISTAN: Western Tian- Shan district , Kurama region , Kurama Range , right bank of the river Angren, farm Urazaevka, stud farm 68, old alfalfa field, 16 April 1935, Koshurnikova, Poslavskaya 17, 19 ( TASH!) ; Angren , 1944, Sumnevich s.n. ( TASH!) ; surroundings of Ablyk , stony steppe, 26 March 1944, Sumnevich s.n. ( TASH!) ; right bank of the river Angren , 1 km to north-west from the stud farm 68, 14 April 1954, Butkov, Maylun, Nabiev s.n. ( TASH!) ; right bank of the river Angren , foothills near the village Kursay, 15 April 1954, Butkov, Maylun, Nabiev s.n. ( TASH!) ; right bank of the river Angren river, stud farm 68, foothills, 14 April 1956, Butkov, Maylun, Nabiev s.n. ( TASH!) .