Tulipa patens C. Agardh

Tulipa patens C. Agardh, Syst. Veg., ed. 15 bis [Roemer & Schultes] 7: 384 (1829). Fig. 35 Type. ‘ In Sibiria’, Agardh (LD?, not found). General distribution. Kazakhstan, and Russia. Distribution in Kazakhstan and habitat. Syrt, Tobol-Ishim, Irtysh, Semipalatinsk pine forest, Kokchetav, Mugojary, Turgay, Western Upland, Ulytau, Zaysan, Eastern Upland, Karkaraly, and Altai, Tarbagatai. This species grows in steppe, semi-desert and shrub land on gravelly clayey slopes. Conservation status. The IUCN conservation status of this species requires assessment. It is included in the Red Book of Kazakhstan (Category III). Phenology. Flowering in April – May; fruiting June. Notes. A complete species description of T. patens was published in 1829 by J. Roemer and J. Schultes (Ivashchenko and Belyalov 2019). Subsequently, C. F. Ledebour described it as T. tricolor Ledeb. The taxonomic position of T. patens is relatively controversial. Some authors (Christenhusz et al. 2013; Everett et al. 2013; Li et al. 2021) place it in synonymy of T. sylvestris subsp. australis, while other authors (Polyakov 1958; Cherepanov 1995; Zonneveld 2009; Kutlunina et al. 2013; Wilson 2023) consider this species an independent taxon. We believe that T. patens deserves recognition based on its complex morphological characteristics and ecology.