Golden Trichanthemis Centaury
Status: VU. A rare narrowly endemic species of the Alai Ridge, an ornamental plant.
Description. A perennial gray-green plant. The root is multi-headed, with short, closely spaced caudices. Stems are 5 - 30 cm tall, numerous, with solitary flower heads at the top. Leaves are lanceolate, gray-green due to pubescence, twice pinnately dissected: first-order segments are spread apart, elongated-oval; terminal lobes numbering 3 - 5, linear, with a short transparent tip at the end; leaves decrease in size up the stem, with basal leaves being petiolate. In the flower heads, the marginal flowers are ligulate, and the disc flowers are tubular. Achenes are 2-3 mm long: the crown is 2.5-4.0 mm long, divided into 8-12 narrow linear membranes.
Biological features. Blooms in May-June; fruits in July-August. Propagates by seeds.
General distribution and in the country. Northern macro-slope of the Alai Ridge (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan). In Kyrgyzstan - the gorges of the Isfairamsai and Shakhimardan rivers near the villages of Uch-Korgon, Pulgon, and Kadamjai, the Katrang-Too ridge.
Habitat. Rocky slopes, outcrops of slate in the foothills and lower mountain belt. Population. Very insignificant.
Limiting factors. Trampling due to unregulated livestock grazing. Mass flower collection by the population and tourists reduces the number of fruiting plants.
Existing conservation measures. Included in the Red Book of the USSR (1975), the Red Book of the Kyrgyz SSR (1985).
Recommended conservation measures. No special conservation measures have been developed. Organize a botanical reserve, introduce it into cultivation as an ornamental plant.
Sary Trichanthemis
Golden Trichanthemis Centaury
Trichanthemis aurea Krasch.
Status: VU. It is a rare ornamental plant, narrowly endemic to the northern part of the Alai Mountains (Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan). The species has been found in several sites in the lower parts of the Isfairamsai and Shakhimardan Ravines and on the northern slope of the Katrang-Too Mountain Range, on stony, metal, and metal-clayey slopes. Period of flowering: May - June, fruiting in July - August; propagation is generative (by seeds) only. The population is small. The species is unknown in cultivation. Limiting factors: excessive pasturing (trampling by cattle) and mass flower collection. This plant is not under special protection despite being included in the Red Book of Kyrgyzstan in 1985. It is recommended to create a botanical wildlife area in its habitat and to introduce it into botanical gardens (a valuable ornamental plant).
