Persian Rowan
Status: VU. Endemic, ornamental species.
Description. A tree up to 5 m tall. Annual shoots are reddish-brown, bare or slightly pubescent. Leaves are simple, elliptical or elongated-elliptical, 5-8 cm long, 4-6 cm wide, shallowly lobed, leathery, glabrous on top, white-woolly underneath, with few-flowered inflorescences. Flower stalks are white-woolly during flowering, later becoming bare. Petals are white, narrowing at the base. Fruits are spherical or elongated, orange-red with a bluish bloom.
Biological features. Not studied.
Distribution general and in the country. Northern Iran, Turkmenistan (Central Kopet-Dag), Pamir-Alai and Western Tian Shan (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan). In Kyrgyzstan: Talas, Kyrgyz, Uzun-Akhmat, Fergana, Kokerim, and Ak-Shyirak-Western mountain ranges. In several places of growth, recent information can only be inferred from herbarium samples.
Habitat. In gorges.
Population. Limited, found as single specimens.
Limiting factors. Mass cutting for handicrafts. Weak regeneration.
Cultivation. Cultivated in the Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic since 1967. Plants are significantly stunted in growth and do not flower.
Existing conservation measures. The species has been placed under state protection in accordance with the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Kyrgyz SSR in 1975. Included in the Red Book of the Kyrgyz SSR (1985).
Recommended conservation measures. Determine the current status of the species. Account for and protect all remaining specimens. Organize a botanical reserve in the middle reaches of the Kugart River in the Toguz-Toroo District, where alongside Persian Rowan, other rare species will also receive protection.
Persian Rowan
Sorbus persica Hedl
Status: VU. It is a narrowly distributed endemic species with a reducing area and number. Single individuals occur in ravines in Fergana, Uzun-Akhmat, Talas, Alexander, Kokerim-Too, and Ak-Shyirak-Western Mountain Ranges. At present, it is known from many localities by herbarium samples only. Period of flowering: May, fruiting in September; propagation is generative but reproduction is very limited. This ornamental tree has been cultivated in Bishkek Botanical Garden since 1967 but has not flowered. Limiting factors: weak propagation and mass felling (for hand-made articles of decorative art). The species is included in the Red Book of the country in 1985. It is necessary to check the current state of populations of this species, to protect all registered specimens, and to create a special botanical wildlife area in the middle part of the Kugart River gorge (Toguz-Toroo District).
