Tien Shan Scutiger
Scutiger tianschanicus A. Bond.
Status: CR. Very rare, almost endemic species.
Description. Fruiting bodies are mostly solitary, rarely connected at the base in pairs. Caps are more or less fleshy, elastic when fresh, strongly shriveling, indented in the middle, 1.5-5 cm in diameter, up to 0.5 mm thick in the central part and up to 1 mm at the edge. The surface is pale-colored, later dirty-yellow, densely fleshy from small, closely spaced scales. The edge is thin, often lobed. The tissue is whitish, densely fleshy, hard and brittle when dried, often with a thin line at the boundary of the tubes. The stem is more or less central, 1.5-3 cm long, 0.4-1 cm thick, slightly swollen or tapered at the base, smooth, almost colorless, wrinkled when dried. Inedible.
Biological features. Not studied. Fruits in late September.
General distribution and in the country. Kazakhstan (Zailiysky Alatau: Issyk, Maloe Almaty, Bolshoe Almaty gorges), Northern Kyrgyzstan (Issyk-Kul lake basin).
Habitat. Mid-mountain belt. On soil in spruce forests (Picea schrenkiana), in cultural cenoses on clearings of Schrenk's spruce, forms small fruiting bodies on old stumps.
Population. Rare and infrequently encountered.
Limiting factors. Anthropogenic. Reduction of spruce forest areas. Due to its peculiar shape, it is subject to careless destruction.
Cultivation. No information available.
Existing conservation measures. Included in the Red Book of the Kazakh SSR (1981).
Recommended conservation measures. Conduct educational work among the population to prohibit the collection of Scutiger. Ensure the preservation of habitats.
Tien Shan Scutiger
Tien Shan Scutiger
Scutiger tianschanicus A. Bond.
Status: CR. This very rare species is endemic to North Tien Shan and is known in the Terskey Ala-Too Mountain Range (Dzhelandy locality) in Kyrgyzstan, as well as in several localities in the Zailiysky Mountain Range in adjacent Kazakhstan. It inhabits fir-wood and anthropogenic landscapes at clearings (after Picea schrenkiana) in the mid-mountain zone. It is an inedible terrestrial fungus; its biology is unstudied. Limiting factors include the reduction of fir-wood areas. Mycothalluses are registered in September. Preservation of habitats and educational work for the public are recommended as protection options.
