Tulipa borszczowii Regel

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 : 177-178

2.2. Tulipa borszczowii Regel in Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 41(1): 438. (1868).

Type:— KAZAKHSTAN. Steppe Kara-Kum am AralSee , Borszczow 677 (holotype LE! photograph K) .

Description:—Bulb ovoid, 2–3 cm thick; tunic prolonged to soil surface, very tough, coriaceous, fibrous, splitting, black-brown to tawny, densely lanate inside; stem 20–35(–40) cm long, the upper part one-half to two-thirds as long as the underground part, the stem and peduncle glabrous, glaucous, rarely slightly anthocyan coloured; leaves 3(4), scattered, glaucous, strongly curled, glabrous, smooth-margined, rather rapidly decreasing in size up the stem, exceeding or at least reaching the flower; lower leaf lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate; flower solitary, opening widely; perigone segments yellow, orange, orange-red or light red, with a dark violet blotch on both faces, 3–6 cm long, usually gradually acuminate, with a slightly pubescent tip; outer segments rhomboidal with rounded angles and attenuate apex terminating in a short pubescent tip; inner segments slightly longer than outer ones, obtriangular, slightly rounded, notched at apex, with a small tooth on the midrib; stamens one-third to two-fifths the length of perigone; filaments glabrous, black to purple, dilated and lighter at the base, pointed at the top; anthers black to purple, as long as filaments; ovary bluish-green, the upper part below stigma bright green, slightly shorter than stamens; stigma sessile; capsule 1.5–2.0 cm in diameter, 2.5–4.5 cm long.

General distribution:—The deserts of Aral Sea Region, Kyzylkum, Betpakdala ( Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan).

Distribution in Uzbekistan:—II-2 Middle-Syrdarya district (II-2-b Mirzachul region), II-3 Kyzylkum district (II-3-b Kyzylkum Relict Mountains).

Phenology:—Flowering: April; fruiting: May.

Ecology:—Sandy, clayey and stony deserts, relic mountains, up to 500 m a.s.l.

Etymology:—This tulip has been named after the Russian botanist Borszczow (1833–1878), a specialist for plant taxonomy, physiology, and anatomy, who collected this plant for the first time in 1857 from the Aralo-Caspian region.

Note:—Previously, this species has been reported as endemic of Kazakhstan widespread in western Betpakdala, Aral deserts, northern Kyzylkum, and the lower reaches of Sarysu River ( Vvedensky 1935, 1941, Vvedensky & Kovalevskaja 1971, Ivashchenko 2005). It was not included in the checklist of the flora of Uzbekistan. In 2002, it has been collected from Uzbekistan for the first time (from the western part of Hungry Steppe near the borders with KyzylKum desert and Kazakhstan (Beshko s.n., TASH). Specimens collected from the neighboring areas of Kazakhstan are kept at TASH. Later, several new populations have been found in the Uzbekistan part of Kyzyl-Kum, including relic mountains Muruntau and Kuldjuktau (Abduraimov et al. 2018). At present, seven locations of this species are known in Uzbekistan (3–in the western part of Hungry Steppe and the eastern edge of Kyzylkum, 4–in relic mountains). The populations of the Hungry Steppe (Mirza-Chul) and eastern Kyzyl-Kum are comprised of a yellow form, whereas a red form of this tulip occurs in the insular low mountains Muruntau.

Specimens examined:— UZBEKISTAN: Northern Kyzylkum , mountain Muruntag, 15 April 2014, Abduraimov s.n. ( TASH!) ; Tashkent region Bekabad district, Dalverzin sands, finely hilly fixed sands, 270 m, 31 March 2021, N. Beshko, U. Kodirov, O. Gaziev, F. Madaminov NB2021058 ( TASH!) ; SE of Kyzylkum, 6 km to the northwest from the Chardarya , a wide depression among hilly sands with ephemeral-sagebrush, 19 April 1965, Makarchuk s.n. ( TASH!) ; Jizzakh region , the western outskirts of the Hungry Steppe , near the Akbulak collector and lake Tuzchikudukkul, Lolazor, 31 March 2002, N. Beshko s. n ( TASH!) ; Syrdarya region , Kazalinsky district, on the still sands near railway, Aral Sea, 22 April 1910, N. Androsov s.n. ( MW) .