Tulipa kaufmanniana Regel

Tulipa kaufmanniana Regel, Gartenflora 26: 194 (1877). Fig. 26 Type. Uzbekistan • ‘ In Turkestaniae montibus fluvium Tschirtschik [Chirchiq] adjacentibus’, A. Regel (LE!). General distribution. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan (POWO 2024). Distribution in Kazakhstan and habitat. Western Tian Shan, Karatau, and Kyrgyz Alatau. This species grows on shaded slopes, meadow areas, and scrub thickets and less often on rocky slopes from the lower to the upper mountain belts. Conservation status. Tulipa kaufmanniana is a near threatened species at the global level (IUCN 2024). It is included in the Red Book of Kazakhstan (Category III). Phenology. Flowering in March – May; fruiting in June – July. Notes. Tulipa kaufmanniana was described by E. L. Regel in 1877 from the Chirchik River basin. The species was named in honor of Kaufmann, Governor-General of the Turkestan region (Ivashchenko and Belyalov 2019). Tulipa berkariensis Rukšāns, described from the Berkari Gorge by Rukšāns (2019), differs from T. kaufmanniana by the globular bulb shape and the presence of horizontal stolons. Currently, many researchers consider T. berkariensis a synonym of T. kaufmanniana (Christenhusz et al. 2013; Everett et al. 2013; Sennikov and Tojibaev 2021). However, T. berkariensis has a slightly smaller genome size than the authentic T. kaufmanniana from Uzbekistan (Zonneveld 2009). Further research is needed to study T. berkariensis and establish its taxonomic status.