Korolkov’s Pagoda-tree
Status: CR. The only species of the genus found in Kyrgyzstan.
Description. A shrub with silvery-white young branches and gray bark on older shoots. Leaves are pinnate, with green leaflets on top and white-woolly, silvery, oval leaflets underneath. Flowers are yellow, gathered in racemose inflorescences. Pods are four-angled, with narrow wings along the edges and constrictions.
Biological features. Flowers in May, fruits from June to August. Propagates by seeds and vegetatively.
Distribution in general and within the country. The majority of specimens grow in the Razan-Sai gorge and along the Naryn River (Western Tien Shan). Isolated specimens are found along the western slope of the Echkilit-Too range at the lower reaches of the Kara-Suu River, in the Chaaak-Too gorge, as well as along the right bank of the Naryn River up to the Kurp-Sai gorge. This is the northernmost point of its natural distribution.
Habitat. On variegated slopes of low mountains.
Population. No accounting has been conducted.
Limiting factors. A significant portion of the plants has been destroyed during the construction of the Bishkek-Osh highway, the Kurp-Sai reservoir, the establishment of a settlement in Razan-Sai, and the construction of a road along the western slope of the Echkilit-Too ridge.
Cultivation. When sowing seeds in the Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences, the seedlings quickly perish. One specimen transplanted with a clod of earth survived and has entered the flowering phase. It sets fruits. It winters under cover.
Existing conservation measures. No special conservation measures have been developed. It is listed in the Red Book of the Kyrgyz SSR (1985).
Recommended conservation measures. The remaining plants should be protected by the relevant forestry departments. In Razan-Sai, where the largest population exists, a botanical reserve should be established for the Korolkov’s Pagoda-tree.
Боз кемпир
Korolkov’s Pagoda-tree
Styphnolobium korolkowii (Kochne)Jakovl.
(Sophora griffithii Stoks ssp Korolkowii Kochne)
Status: CR. It is a narrowly distributed endemic species with a reducing area and number; the northernmost and only representative of this ornamental shrub genus in Kyrgyzstan. The area of the species is limited to the middle part of the Naryn River basin (Kurpsai, Ryazan-Sai, Tchaak-Too, and Kara-Suu localities). These plants populate metal slopes in variegated and mottled clayey soils in the piedmont zone. Period of flowering: May, fruiting from June to August; propagation is both generative and vegetative. Cultivation is problematic: in the Bishkek Botanical Garden, all seedlings were lost, and only one specimen from shrubs transplanted with a soil clod was saved and even began to flower; it hibernates in a shelter. Limiting factors: transformation and destruction of habitats caused by the construction of roads and excessive grazing of cattle (especially goats). There are no special conservation measures despite the species being included in the Red Book of the Republic. It is recommended to take all surviving specimens under protection by the corresponding forestry departments and to create a special protected area with a comprehensive nature conservation routine in the Ryazan-Sai Ravine.