Schennikov’s Otostegia
Status: VU. A rare endemic species, endemic to Kyrgyzstan with a disjunct distribution.
Description. A low semi-shrub with gray knobby and curved lower branches with closely spaced internodes and pubescent young annual shoots 6-10 cm long, which end in a solitary whorl of flowers. Leaves are 2-4 cm long, 0.8-1.6 cm wide, opposite, fleshy, ovate, blunt, shortly pubescent, sessile or on short petioles. Flowers are gathered in multi-flowered whorls at the end of the annual shoot. The bracts are three in number, needle-like lanceolate, pubescent. The calyx is longer than the corolla, with a bell-shaped tube with 10 veins, finely pubescent, and a large, broad bilabiate limb; the upper lip of the calyx is broadly oval with a sharply defined central vein and two lateral veins; the lower lip has 4-5 veins. The corolla is pale cream, with the upper lip entire and densely pubescent on the outside, while the lower lip is three-lobed.
Biological features. It blooms in June-July; fruits in July-August. Reproduction is by seeds.
General distribution and in the country. In Kyrgyzstan: southern slope of the Ak-Shyirak-Western ridge (Karagaty site); southwestern part of the Moldo-Too ridge, Chatkal ridge (surroundings of the Shekaftar village).
Habitat. Southern slopes of mountains on outcrops of particolored rocks.
Population. Very small.
Limiting factors. Overgrazing of pastures by livestock.
Cultivation. No information available.
Existing conservation measures. Included in the Red Book of the Kyrgyz SSR (1985). No special conservation measures have been developed.
Recommended conservation measures. Organize a botanical reserve, test in cultivation at the Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Schennikov’s Otostegia
Otostegia schennikovii V. Scharaschova
Status: VU. This stocky semi-shrub plant is a rare little-studied endemic of the Western Tien Shan with a disjunct area. The species is still known from only three sites: on the southern slope of Chatkal (near Shekaftar village), in Moldo-Too (Karagatty gorge), and Ak-Shyirak-Western Mountain Ranges. The plant occurs on slopes with particolored bedrocks of southern exposition, flowers in July; propagation is generative (by seeds). The number in nature is very small, and information on cultivation is absent. The major limiting factor is excessive cattle pasturage. The species is without any protection despite being included in the Red Book of the country. It is recommended to create a botanical wildlife area for the conservation of this species and to introduce it in the Bishkek Botanical Garden.
