Tulipa greigii

This species is nationally red listed as Vulnerable in Tajikistan (Nowak et al. 2020) and Uzbekistan (Tojibaev and Beshko 2015) and as Endangered in Kyrgyzstan (Davletkeldiev 2006), whilst it is reported as Threatened in Kazakhstan (Baitulin 2014). Its presence in the red books of these countries provides significant protection, but also highlights that historically there have been declines. This species is known to occur in the Aksu-Zhabagly Nature Reserve and Berkara Reserve in Kazakhstan, as well as the Ugam-Chatkal National Park in Uzbekistan. It also occurs in the Red Hill Reserve established in Kazakhstan in 1977 to specifically protect a large subpopulation of red flowering Tulipa greigii. In addition, this species is known from 31 ex situ collections (BGCI 2022) including the Gareev Botanical Garden in Bishkek, Tashkent Botanical Garden, as well as at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Cambridge University Botanic Gardens.

This species is of particular cultural and horticultural importance and is particularly genetically and morphologically diverse which will require focused conservation efforts to maintain with particular focus on subpopulations on the edge of the main range of specific interest. There is a need to extend protected areas, especially in Kazakhstan, to urban suburbs to protect this species and this species may require translocation efforts in the future as habitat shifts under climate change may be too rapid for natural migration. Finally, mining activities must be halted in areas where important subpopulations grow and increased education efforts are needed to raise awareness of this species vulnerability to threats with a particular focus on school children likely to be the most effective method.