Tulipa bifloriformis Vved.

Tulipa bifloriformis Vved., Opred. Rast. Sred. Azii 2: 320 (1971). Fig. 12 Type. Uzbekistan • Tian-Schan occidentalis, in collibus argillosis circa urb. Taschkent, 19 March 1923, M. G. Popov & A. I. Vvedensky 1036 (holotype TASH 000502!; isotypes BM, H 1200916, K). General distribution. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan (Tojibaev et al. 2022). Distribution in Kazakhstan and habitat. Karatau, Kyrgyz Alatau, Kyzylorda, Moiynkum, Turkestan, and Western Tian Shan. This species grows on the clay, stony, and rubbly slopes of hills, steppes and semi-desert foothill plains. Conservation status. Tulipa bifloriformis is assessed as least concern at the global level (IUCN 2024). Phenology. Flowering in March – April; fruiting in May – June. Notes. Tulipa bifloriformis was described by Vvedensky in 1935 from herbarium material collected near Tashkent in 1923. Later, a complete diagnosis of this species was published in ‘ Conspectus Florae Asiae Mediae’ (Vvedensky and Kovalevskaya 1971). This species is morphologically similar to T. biflora, differing in its leathery bulb sheaths and drooping buds before flowering. Externally, T. bifloriformis is similar to T. buhseana but differs in its tomentose bulb sheaths on the inner side (Vvedensky and Kovalevskaya 1971). This species often inhabits open slopes after landslides and forms dense carpets that spread vegetatively (Tojibaev et al. 2022).