Vvedensky’s Sage
Status: VU. A very rare narrowly endemic species. An ornamental plant.
Description. Perennial. Stem 40 - 60 cm tall, simple or branched in the inflorescence, pale on the ribs, green on the edges, densely pubescent. Basal leaves long-stalked, large, up to 8 cm long and 4 cm wide, pinnately divided, with a green border along the stem, lobes in turn pinnately dissected or pinnately lobed. Stem leaves in whorls of 3, similar to the basal leaves but smaller, short-stalked, almost sessile. Flowers in whorls of 2(3), with 5-7 on one branch of the inflorescence. The calyx is bell-shaped, up to 13 mm long, enlarged in fruit, glandular-hairy. The corolla is pink, up to 35 mm long, the upper lip is almost straight, two-lobed, the middle lobe of the lower lip is heart-shaped, wider than the lateral lobes. The fruit is a nut.
Biological features. Blooms. U1-UП; fruits from UП-UШ. Propagation by seeds.
Distribution general and in the country. Endemic to Kyrgyzstan; Suusamyr Ridge, Ketmen-Tyube Hollow between the rivers Terek and Sogot-Suu, left bank of the Chychkan River.
Habitat. On rocky and sandy slopes in the middle mountain belt.
Population. Very limited.
Limiting factors. Economic development of the territory.
Cultivation. No information available.
Existing conservation measures. Included in the Red Book of the Kyrgyz SSR (1985).
Recommended conservation measures. Study the range and population status. Organize a botanical reserve in the Ketmen-Tebe valley along the left bank of the Chychkan River.
Vvedensky’s Sage, Введенский кёк башы
Vvedensky’s Sage
Salvia vvedenskyi E. Nikit.
Status: VU. This ornamental perennial plant is a rare narrowly endemic of Kyrgyzstan. The specific area is limited to the northern low- and mid-montane part of the Ketmen-Tyube Hollow (Chychkan Ravine, southeastern spur of the Talas Mountain Range, and southern slope of the Suusamyr-Too Mountain Range). Plants occur on rocky and stony slopes, mainly with an eastern exposure. Period of flowering: June - July, fruiting in July - August; propagation is generative (by seeds). The number in nature is very insignificant. Limiting factors: land development in habitats. The species is unknown in cultivation and in territories of existing protected areas, despite being listed in the Red Books of Kyrgyzstan. It is recommended for species’ conservation to create a botanical wildlife area on the left slope of Chychkan Ravine and to organize monitoring for all populations and area.
