Orchid-like Juno
Status: VU. Endemic to the Western and Northern Tien Shan.
Description. A perennial spring plant. The bulb is about 2 cm thick, covered with leathery, dense brown sheaths; the roots are cord-like, fleshy, and remain after the above-ground part of the plant dries out. The stem is well-defined, with noticeable internodes by the flowering period, 10 - 30 cm in height, (1)-3 - 5-flowered. The leaves are light green, sickle-shaped, with a white border along the edge, gradually narrowing towards the tip, the lower leaves at the base are 2 - 3(5) cm wide. Flowers are 4.4 - 6.0 cm long, varying in color: from pale yellow to bright yellow with a darker spot on the outer tepals. The bract is pale, stiff, and sharp. The outer tepals have strongly winged claws and an elliptical blade, usually notched at the tip. The inner tepals are 10 - 15 mm long, with a sharp three-lobed blade. The crest at the front is solid, serrated, and at the back - divided. The lobes of the column are entire and blunt. The stigma is kidney-shaped.
Biological features. Orchid-like Juno blooms and fruits abundantly in nature and in cultivation. It sprouts in the second half of March, flowers from mid-April for 1-2 weeks. Seeds mature and the plant dries out in June. It propagates well vegetatively, forming nests of several bulbs of different ages, and by seeds. It flowers from seeds in the 4th-5th year.
General distribution and in the country. Kyrgyz and Talas Ridges.
Habitat. Found on fine-soil, clayey, stony, and gravelly slopes from the foothills to the mid-montane zone.
Population. Not established.
Limiting factors. It suffers from increased collection of flowers for bouquets and digging up of bulbs by the population, as well as from trampling by livestock.
Cultivation. Successfully cultivated in the Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic for over 40 years.
Existing conservation measures. Protected since 1975 in accordance with the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Kyrgyz SSR.
Recommended conservation measures. Rational use of pastures. Prohibition of collection of flowers, seeds, and digging up of bulbs. Organize a botanical reserve in the area with the highest concentration of the species.
Juno orchioides
Orchid-like Juno
Juno orchioides (Carr.) Vved.
Status: VU. It is a species endemic to the Western and Northern Tien Shan and populates silty-soil, clayey, and stony slopes, from piedmonts up to the mid-montane belt, in the Alexander and Talas Mountain Ranges. The number in nature is unknown; flowering occurs for 1-2 weeks from the middle of April, with propagation both vegetative and generative (seedlings flower in the 4th-5th year). The species has been cultivated in the Bishkek Botanical Garden for over 40 years. Limiting factors include massive collection of bulbs and flowers (for bouquets by people) and destruction by cattle trampling. The species has been under protection in the country since 1975. To optimize protection, it is recommended: rational usage of pasturable lands, creation of a botanical wildlife area in a locality with abundant population, and prohibition of flower and bulb collection.
