Tulipa dasystemonoides Vved.

Tulipa dasystemonoides Vved., Byull. Sredne-Aziatsk. Gosud. Univ. 21: 147 (1935). Fig. 17 Type. Kazakhstan • ‘ Altai Talac’, 11 June 1909, Minkwitz 1365 (holotype LE!). General distribution. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan (POWO 2024). Distribution in Kazakhstan and habitat. Kyrgyz Alatau, and Western Tian Shan. This species grows in meadows in the alpine belt of mountains and is sometimes found at the lower limit of the sub-alpine belt. Conservation status. The IUCN conservation status of this species requires assessment. Phenology. Flowering in May – June; fruiting in June – August. Notes. Tulipa dasystemonoides was described by A. I. Vvedensky in 1935, based on herbarium material collected from the valley of the Maidantal River in Talas Alatau. Christenhusz et al. (2013) referred to T. dasystemonoides as being synonymous of T. dasystemon. However, T dasystemonoides is distinguished from T. dasystemon primarily by its dense woolly bulb sheaths and cream-colored flowers (Vvedensky 1935; Everett et al. 2013). In addition, the two species have different genome sizes (57.7 pg for T. dasystemonoides and 51.5 pg for T. dasystemon) (Zonneveld 2009). Therefore, we propose that T. dasystemonoides is an independent species.