Tulipa butkovii Botschantz., 1961

Tojibaev, Komiljon, Dekhkonov, Davron, Ergashov, Ibrokhimjon, Sun, Hang, Deng, Tao & Yusupov, Ziyoviddin, 2022, The synopsis of the genus Tulipa (Liliaceae) in Uzbekistan, Phytotaxa 573 (2), pp. 163-214 : 191-192

3.5. Tulipa butkovii Botschantz. in Bot. Mater. Gerb. Inst. Bot. Zool. Akad. Nauk Uzbeksk. S.S.R. 16: 8. (1961).

Type:— UZBEKISTAN. Grown in the Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbek SSR from bulbs collected by Z. P. Botschantzeva in 1959 on steep south-western slopes (almost screes) of the mountain Smaller Chimgan, Botschantzeva 3754 (holotype TASH000505 !) .

Description:—Bulb ovoid 2–3 cm thick; tunic brown, papery, slightly elongate, on the inside lined with short, adpressed golden hairs, more densely at the apex and at base; stem (10) 15–30 cm long, brownish-green, glaucous and pubescent; leaves 3–4, approximate, reflexed, sometimes exceeding the flower, more or less curled, glaucous, pubescent, ciliate at margins of a lighter shade; basal leaf broadly lanceolate, 2.0– 4.5 cm width, its basal partis below soil level; upper leaf narrow lanceolate; flower solitary, widely campanulate, opening to a wide cup or wide star; perigone segments 3.5– 5.5(6) cm long, crimson-red or purple-red to brick-red, glaucous and purple-tinged on the back, with small, diffuse, brown-purple basal blotch or without distinct blotch (tepals blurred brownish or greenish-yellow at the base); inner segments oblong or narrowly ovate, rounded at the top and more or less apiculate, with a pubescent tip; outer segments narrowly oblong or lanceolate, obtuse or rounded at the top; stamens 2.0–2.5 times shorter than the perigone; filaments red, brownish or purple, equal or exceeding the ovary, thin, dilated towards the base; anthers yellow or purple, shorter, equal or almost twice as long as the filaments, gradually dehiscing from the top to base, but not twisted; pollen yellow or purple; ovary bottle-shaped, cream-coloured or pale green, purple-tinged along the ribs and below stigma; capsule oblong-ovate, broader at the base than near the style, pale grey with a pattern of maroon spots and stripes, with a rather long beak ( Fig. 8C ).

General distribution:—Endemic to the western part of Chatkal Range ( Uzbekistan).

Distribution in Uzbekistan:—I-1 the Western Tian-Shan district (1-b Western Chatkal region).

Phenology:—Flowering: April–May; fruiting: May–June.

Ecology:—Fine earth, gravelly and stony slopes, screes and rocks, in middle mountain zone, 1300–2200 m a.s.l.

Etymology:—This species is named after A. Butkov (1911–1981), a well-known plant taxonomist and geobotanist, who worked at the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan and collected this tulip species from different areas of Chatkal Range in 1955–1956.

Note:—The taxonomical status of T. butkovii is still uncertain. The main distinctive character of T. butkovii is red filaments. Van Raamsdonk et al. (1997) treated this species as synonym of T. albertii Regel. Zonneveld (2009) , Christenhusz et al. (2013) and Everett (2013) restored T. butkovii as a separate species of sect. Vinistriatae.

Specimens examined:— UZBEKISTAN: Western Tian-Shan district , Western Chatkal region , Chatkal Range , Chatkal Nature Reserve, Greater Maydantal, gravelly slopes, August 1955, Butkov s.n. ( TASH!) ; Chatkal Nature Reserve , Smaller Maydantal, among the rocks, August 1955, Butkov s.n. ( TASH!) ; Akbulak Valley , Karasay, gravelly slopes, 1820–2000 m, 1956, Butkov s.n. ( TASH!) ; Akbulak valley , at the confluence with the Serkelisay, gravelly slopes, 1956, Butkov s.n. ( TASH!) .

It has known that species of the section possess ornamental character which led to overexploitation of the species. For example, T. vvedenskyi (in Kurama range) and T. greigii (Chatkal range) have been selling in Uzbekistan.After 1970 populations of T. mogoltavica decreased considerable and populations of T. micheliana distributed in transboundary regions with Tajikistan are completely extincted ( Fig. 9 ).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Species of Tulipa sect. Vinistriatae: A. T. greigii, B. T. vvedenskyi, C. T. butkovii. Scale bars, 1 cm.

FIGURE 9. Distribution of the species of Tulipa sect. Vinistriatae before (A) and after (B) the year 1970.