Four-leaved Tulip / Turt Jalbyraktuu Mandalak / Quadrifolious Tulip

Quadrifolious Tulip

Status: VU. Endemic to the Inner Tien Shan.

Description. A bulbous ephemeral. The bulb is broadly ovoid, 1.5 - 3 cm in diameter, with brownish-black, rigid, leathery protective scales. The stem is 3 - 25 cm tall, glabrous. Leaves (3 - 7), sickle-shaped, grooved, often curled, strap-like, glaucous, glabrous, with white margins. Flowers 1 - 4; yellow, drooping in bud. The outer tepals (2 - 6 cm long, 0.7 - 2.9 cm wide) are broadly lanceolate or elongated rhombic, yellow-green on the outside with a long spot along the back, yellow at the upper edge, and pure yellow on the inner surface. The inner tepals are narrowly oblong-ovoid, 1.3 - 5.8 cm long, 0.8 - 3.5 cm wide; yellow on the outside; the central vein is green, with a large, pointed, green spot on both sides. The inner side of the tepals is pure yellow. The stamens are three times shorter than the tepals but one and a half times taller than the ovary. The capsule is 3.7 cm long and 1.7 cm wide, broadly elongated, usually suddenly narrowing towards the base and apex, with a carpophore at the base (up to 0.5 cm high, 0.4 cm wide); it narrows at the top into a short column, up to 0.4 cm long.

Biological features. It blooms in May, no data on fruiting.

General distribution and in the country. Inner Tien Shan.

Habitat. Rocky slopes.

Population. No data.

Limiting factors. Human economic activities: spring grazing of livestock, flower collection, bulb digging.

Cultivation. No data.

Existing conservation measures. Not developed.

Recommended conservation measures. Establishment of botanical reserves in areas with the highest concentration of the species, monitoring the status of populations. Prohibit flower collection, bulb digging, and livestock grazing.

Тёрт жалбырактуу мандалак

Quadrifolious Tulip
Tulipa tetraphylla Regel
Status: VU. This Inner Tien Shan endemic species is spread at stony slopes, it is an ornamental plant with large yellow greenish-striped blossoms. The number in nature is unknown; flowering occurs in May. Limiting factors include the collection of flowers and bulbs by people and the pasturing of cattle in the spring period. Currently, it is unprotected, and there are no data about cultivation. The creation of botanical wildlife areas in sites with abundant populations, monitoring, and prohibiting pasturage, as well as the prohibition of flower and bulb collection, are necessary for the protection of the species.