Tulipa heterophylla Baker

Tulipa heterophylla Baker, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 14: 295 (1874). Fig. 22 Type. China • ‘ Tianshan: Trens Ui Ala-Tau’, Semenow (holotype LE). General distribution. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China (Xinjiang) (POWO 2024). Distribution in Kazakhstan and habitat. Trans-Ili Kungey Alatau, Ketmen Terskey Alatau. This species grows on gravelly slopes, forest clearings, and subalpine meadows. Conservation status. Tulipa heterophylla is a least concern species at the global level (IUCN 2024). It is included in the Red Book of Kazakhstan (Category II). Phenology. Flowering in April – July; fruiting in June – August (depending on the elevation). Notes. Tulipa heterophylla was initially described by E. L. Regel in 1868 from Zailiyskiy Alatau as Orithyia heterophylla Regel. In 1874, Baker assigned this species to the genus Tulipa. Notably, M. G. Popov allocated T. heterophylla to a new genus, Eduardoregelia Popov, in 1936 due to its unusual flower appearance (Ivashchenko and Belyalov 2019). This species is distinguished from other species of the subgenus Orithyia by the fact that its flower stalks are curved at the top of the stem resulting in flowers in a more or less horizontal position (Zonneveld 2009; Everett et al. 2013). More recently, T. heterophylla was found to have a lower level of intrachromosomal asymmetry than other species of the subgenus Orithyia (Chernysheva et al. 2023). The main range of this species does not extend beyond the Tian Shan.