Catmint-like Scullcup
Status: VU. A very rare narrowly endemic species. Ornamental plant.
Description. Perennial. The rhizome is thin and branched. Stems are 5-15 cm tall, thin and weak, spreading, ascending, gray from dense pubescence of protruding hairs. Leaves are small, 5-10 mm long and wide, broadly ovate, heart-shaped at the base, coarsely serrated at the edges, gray from fluffy woolly pubescence of long hairs. The inflorescence is initially short, reaching 5 cm in length when fruiting. Bracts are up to 7 mm long, 3 mm wide, elongated-lanceolate, boat-shaped, sharp, and fall off. Pedicels are erect, equal in length to the calyx, and short-pubescent along with it. The corolla is 1.2 - 1.5 cm long, red-yellow, with a yellow spot with dark dots on the lower lip, and hairy on the outside.
Biological features. Flowering and fruiting from May to August. Propagation is by seeds. Distribution is general and within the country. Alay Ridge in the basin of the Shakhimardan River.
Habitat. On rocky-gravelly slopes, screes in the mid-montane belt. Population. Insignificant.
Limiting factors. Flower collection and excessive grazing pressure.
Cultivation. Information is absent.
Existing conservation measures. Included in the Red Book of the Kirghiz SSR (1985). No special conservation measures have been developed.
Recommended conservation measures. Complete protection of the plants, prohibition of flower collection, and the establishment of a botanical reserve in the area of highest population concentration. Rational use of pastures.
Scutellaria nepetoides
Catmint-like Scullcup
Scutellaria nepetoides M. Pop. ex fuz
Status: VU. This small perennial plant is a rare narrowly endemic species of Southern Kyrgyzstan. It inhabits stony and metal slopes and screes in the mid-montane belt in the basin of the Shakhimardan River. Period of flowering: April - September, fruiting in May - September; propagation is generative (by seeds). The population in nature is insignificant, and data on cultivation are absent. Limiting factors include excessive cattle pasturage and flower collection. The species is not under any protection despite being included in the Red Book of the country. The creation of a botanical wildlife area for the most abundant populations, control of pasturage, and prohibition of flower collection are recommended to conserve this species.
