Aulie-Ata Stemmacantha Centaury
Status: EN. A very rare species, critically endangered.
Description. A perennial rhizomatous plant. The rhizome is relatively vertical, thick at the top, and multi-headed. Stems 1-3, ranging from 6 to 40 cm in height. Leaves are finely pubescent on both sides, pinnately dissected; lobes are unevenly serrated. The basal and lower stem leaves are 8-12 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, petiolate; stem leaves are sessile, pinnate-lobed, with unevenly serrated edges. The involucre is 3.0—3.5 cm wide, glabrous. The flower heads are 4-7 cm in diameter. Flowers are yellow, with reddish-purple, and at the end of flowering, purple speckles. The corolla is 1.7-2.0 cm long. Achenes are 5-6 (10) cm long, whitish, four-angled, slightly ribbed, with a brownish tint. The pappus is yellowish-brown, multi-rowed, with stiff bristles.
Biological features. It blooms in May-June, fruits in June-July. It reproduces by seeds.
Distribution in general and in the country. The western part of the Kyrgyz Ridge, the Echkilitaau, Ak-Tash, and Talas Mountain Ranges (the Kara-Koyun River basin).
Habitat. Rocky and gravelly slopes of mountains in the juniper forest zone.
Population. Found singly.
Limiting factors. Human economic activity: excessive grazing pressure in the summer period.
Cultivation. When sown in late autumn in a collection nursery, friendly sprouts appear in spring. In the first year, the plants develop a tuft of leaves. After 5 years, only a few specimens remain. The plants do not tolerate watering. Seeds retain good germination after 5 years of storage.
Existing conservation measures. Included in the Red Book of the Kyrgyz SSR (1985).
Recommended conservation measures. Not developed. Determine the status of populations, study biology, and reproductive features. In places with the highest concentration of the species, organize botanical reserves, and introduce it in the Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic as a medicinal plant.
Oluyaata raponticum
Aulie-Ata Stemmacantha Centaury
Stemmacantha aulieatensis (Jljin) M. Dittrich (Rhaponticum aulieatense (Jljin))
Status: EN. It is critically endangered, a very rare narrow-spread species, distributed in the Alexander (only in the western part), Etchkili-Too, Ak-Tash, and Talas Mountain Ranges (Kara-Koyun River basin). This ornamental plant occurs as single individuals on stony and metal slopes in the juniper forest zone. Period of flowering: May - June; propagation is generative (by seeds); the plant is unstudied in culture. The limiting factor is anthropogenic influence (excessive pasturage in the summer period). Currently, there are no developed special methods for preservation, despite its inclusion in the Red Book of the country in 1985. It is necessary to study the biology and propagation in nature, introduce it into culture in botanical gardens, and create protected territories in places with concentrated populations for conservation.
