Kashgarian Barberry
Status: VU. Rare species.
Description. A strongly branched shrub from 0.5 to 1 m in height with short internodes. The branches are brownish, with three-parted thorns 15 mm long, exceeding the leaves. The leaves are small, up to 15 mm long and up to 6 mm wide, elongated-ovate, leathery, entire or with one sharp lateral tooth on a short petiole. Flowers are solitary or in groups of 2-3 in the leaf axils. The sepals are ovate and blunt. The petals are notched and indented at the tip, twice as long as the stamens. The fruits are broadly oval black berries up to 8 mm long.
Biological features. It blooms in May-June, fruits in August. Propagation is by seeds.
General distribution and in the country. Tibet, Kashgaria (Western China), Eastern Pamir (Tajikistan). In Kyrgyzstan, Central Tien Shan (Sary-Dzhaz River basin).
Habitat. Rocky slopes and old moraines, ridges. It grows up to 4300 m above sea level.
Population. Insignificant, usually found solitary.
Limiting factors. Economic development of the habitats of the species populations. Cultivation. Not known in cultivation.
Existing conservation measures. Included in the Red Book of the Kyrgyz SSR (1985).
Recommended conservation measures. Study the population, biology of the species and organize a nature reserve in the area of its highest concentration.
Kashgarian Barberry
Berberis kaschgarica Rupr.
Status: VU. It is a rare little-known species, one of five Kyrgyz congeners, scarcely distributed in the Sary-Dzhaz River basin up to 4,300 m above sea level, at stony slopes and moraines. It has value as a soil-fixing and food plant. Period of flowering: June - August, fruiting in end of August - September, number is limited. This plant is unstudied in culture and has generative reproduction. Limiting factors: economic development of habitats. At present time, the species is out of any protection despite being included in the Red Book of the country in 1985. It is recommended for species conservation: to study the biology and abundance and to create protected territories in places with concentrated populations.