Tien Shan Sibiraea
Status: CR. An endemic, decorative, and rare northern Tien Shan plant.
Description. A low shrub up to 0.5 m in height, with thick dark brown stems. The leaves are narrow-lanceolate, sessile, 2 - 6 cm long and 4 - 8 cm wide, with a sharp tip ending in a short point, glabrous at the base, sometimes with fringed edges. Flowers 5 mm in diameter are gathered in clusters 2.5 cm long, tightly sitting on a thin axis, and the clusters are gathered into a panicle, with the lower ones on pedicels 0.5 - 3 mm long. The axes of the inflorescences, pedicels, and hypanthium have dense and long pubescence. The leaflets are glabrous, up to 4 mm long and 2 mm wide.
Biological features. Reproduces by seeds and vegetatively. Flowers in June and fruits in August.
Distribution general and in the country. Northern Tien Shan (Kетмень, Zailiysky, Kungei, and Terskey Alatau ridges). In Kyrgyzstan - upper reaches of the Kok-Djar River (Terskey Ala-Too) and Syuttu-Bulak River (Kungei Ala-Too).
Habitat. Upper mountain belt: thickets of shrubs and creeping juniper, clearings in sparse spruce forests, cryophytic medium-grass (subalpine) and low-grass (alpine) meadows. Found singly and in small groups.
Population. Data is lacking.
Limiting factors. Suffers from excessive grazing pressure on pastures. Seedlings and young plants are almost absent.
Cultivation. Has been repeatedly tested in the dendrological reserve of the Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR. When sown in autumn, seedlings appear in April. With the onset of high temperatures and dry air, they perish.
Existing conservation measures. Included in the Red Book of the Kazakh SSR (1981), Red Book of the Kyrgyz SSR (1985).
Recommended conservation measures. Organize a botanical reserve in the upper reaches of the Kok-Djar River. In other areas, monitor the populations of the species.
Tien Shan Sibiraea
Tien Shan Sibiraea
Sibiraea tianschanica (Krassn.) Pojark.
Status: CR. It is a very rare low shrub species with a disjunctive area, endemic to Northern Tien Shan. In Kyrgyzstan, it is known only in the Terskey Ala-Too (eastern part - Kok-Djar River gorge) and Kungei Ala-Too (Syuttu-Bulak River gorge) mountain ranges; another locality is the Dzhiya River head (Zailiysky Mountain Range, Kazakhstan). The species sparsely populates the upper margin of forests and subalpine meadows in the upper parts of gorges (by single specimens and small groups). Young plants grown in Bishkek Botanical Garden died due to the warm and dry climate. The flowering period is in June, and reproduction is generative (by seeds) and vegetative, but shoots are absent in nature due to excessive pasturage (the main limiting factor). This rare species is listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan (1981) and Kyrgyzstan (1985), but there are currently no special preservation methods in place. It is recommended to create a botanical wildlife area in the Kok-Djar River head and to organize monitoring in other habitats.
