Tulipa intermedia Tojibaev & J.de Groot

Tojibaev, Komiljon, Dekhkonov, Davron, Ergashov, Ibrokhimjon, Sun, Hang, Deng, Tao & Yusupov, Ziyoviddin, 2022, The synopsis of the genus Tulipa (Liliaceae) in Uzbekistan, Phytotaxa 573 (2), pp. 163-214 : 183-184

2.7. Tulipa intermedia Tojibaev & J.de Groot in Nordic J. Bot. 32(5): 546. (2014).

Type:— UZBEKISTAN. Ferghana Depression : Kurama Mt Range , Pap-Chust foothills, vicinities of Muruldi and Kandisai villages, Artemisia steppe, 40°56′29.6″ N, 70° 52′ 02.5″ E, 936 m a.s.l., 30 March 2013, K. Tojibaev 156 ( TASH000511 !) .

Description:—Bulb ovate, 1.5–3.0 cm thick; tunic thin coriaceous, dark brown, prolonged, sometimes to the soil surface, inside at the base sparsely and at the top densely covered with appressed hairs; plants of relatively stocky habit; stem 8–12 cm tall (including peduncle), smooth, glabrous; leaves 3, approximate, nearly verticillate, usually exceeding or at least reaching the flower, smooth, lanceolate, curled, with undulate margins; flower solitary, widely cup-shaped; perigone segments yellow ( var. intermedia ), reddish-orange or light red ( var. korolkowioides ), sometimes with small brownish blotch or dark yellow coloured at the base, acute or with a small tip at apex, sometimes obtuse, 1.0– 1.5 cm wide, ca. 3 cm long, oblong to rhomboidal, often convex-concave; stamens 1.0– 1.3 cm long, filaments 6–7 mm long, yellow, brownish in their basal part (in var. korolkowioides black in the lower part and purple in the upper part), smooth, dilated in the middle; anthers yellow, almost equal to the filaments; ovary bottle-like, pale yellow, longer than stamens ( Fig. 6B ).

General distribution:—Endemic to the northern foothills of the Fergana Valley ( Uzbekistan).

Distribution in Uzbekistan:—I-1 Western Tian-Shan district (I-1-e Chorkesar region).

Phenology:—Flowering: March–April; fruiting: April–May.

Ecology:—Gravelly and stony soils in piedmonts and lower mountain zone, among sagebrush vegetation, 600– 900 m a.s.l.

Etymology:—Morphologically, T. intermedia takes an intermediate position between T. scharipovii and T. talassica Lazkov. Therefore , the name of this tulip is associated with its taxonomic position.

Intraspecific variability:—Two morphotypes differing in the colour of tepals and filaments were observed in all known populations of T. intermedia and were formally described as varieties as it is done below.

Specimens examined:— UZBEKISTAN: slopes of foothills between the village Khanabad and tract Chap, 18 March 2020, K. Tojibaev, A. Batashov, D. Dekhkanov, Kh. Khoshimov s.n. ( TASH!) ; Namangan Province , Pap district, Uygursay, foothills, 8 May 2021, Kh. Khoshimov s.n. ( TASH!) ; Namangan Province , Chust district, the village Gava, 9 Aril 2021, Kh. Khoshimov, Olimov s.n. ( TASH!) ; Namangan Province , Chust district, the village Varzik, 25 March 2021, Kh. Khoshimov s.n. ( TASH!) ; the left bank of the river Rizak , at the edge of the village Rizak, 19 March 2020, K. Tojibaev, A. Batashov, D. Dekhkanov, Kh. Khoshimov s.n. ( TASH!) .

Figures

FIGURE 6. Species of Tulipa sect. Kolpakowskianae: A. T. scharipovii, B. T. intermedia, C. T. talassica. Scale bars, 1 cm.