Tulipa korolkowii Regel

Tulipa korolkowii Regel, Trudy Imp. S. Peterburgsk. Bot. Sada 3: 295 (1875). Fig. 29 Type. Uzbekistan • ‘ Habitat in solo lutoso in desertis inter Turkestaniam et Khiwam prope Farisch’, Korolkow et Krause (holotype LE!). General distribution. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (Tojibaev et al. 2022). Distribution in Kazakhstan and habitat. Turkestan, and Western Tian Shan. This species grows on dry gravel and stony surfaces, sandy ceilings, slopes, and plains at the outlet (opening), and in the lower belt of the mountain (up to 1800 m a. s. l.). Conservation status. Tulipa korolkowii is a near threatened species at the global level (IUCN 2024). It is included in the Red Book of Kazakhstan (Category II). Phenology. Flowering in March – April; fruiting in May – June. Notes. Tulipa korolkowii was first described by E. L. Regel in 1875 from Forish (Uzbekistan). This species was named in honor of amateur botanist N. I. Korolkow, who lived and worked in the Turkestan region from 1868 to 1905 (Ivashchenko and Belyalov 2019). Vvedensky (1935) distinguished T. korolkowii and two related species, T. rosea Vved. and T. nitida Hoog, as geographically isolated species (Tojibaev et al. 2022). Based on the flow cytometry results, Zonneveld (2009) considered T. korolkowii and T. nitida two different species and T. rosea as T. korolkowii f. rosea (Vvedensky). Christenhusz et al. (2013) considered T. nitida and T. rosea as synonyms of T. korolkowii. Based on long-term studies in natural habitats and observations in ex situ living collections in TASH and Tashkent Botanical Garden, Tojibaev et al. (2022) found that morphological characters between T. korolkowii and T. nitida, vary depending on habitat and climatic conditions. In addition, they did not find any evidence to confirm the presence of T. rosea within the present-day boundaries of Uzbekistan.