Tours behind wild tulips of Kazakhstan.

“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair...” 

 Susan Polis Schutz.

Walk in canyon Mashat behind tulip Lemmersii. 

Tulipa lemmersii  Zoon, A. Peterse, J. de Groot. The tulip has erect stem, is not tall. A bulb is 2 - 2,5 cm in diameter; tunic is thin, brown, slightly pubescent at the base and in the top part.
Stem is bare, one-floral, overground part is 7 cm, not considering bud of 3,5 cm in size.
Leaves are 3, glabrous and without ciliums, the lower leaf is 15 × 3 cm, the upper leaf is 15 × 1,5 cm. Inner petals are 3,5 × 2 cm, oboval, the outer petals are oval, flower is yellow with tints of red on the outside.
Filaments are yellow, not pubescent, 8 × 1,5 mm, anthers are 6 mm, black with light brown pollen.
Capsule is 1 cm long, green, with interspersed yellow stigma. Tulipa lemmersii differs from T. iliensis, T. ferganica, T. anisophylla as well as from T. tetraphylla in glabrous stem, thin tunics and also in presence of single flower.
It can be distinguished from other species of section Kolpakowskianae by presence of reddish and yellow flowers. This species is diploid (has double chromosome complement), has the least content of nuclear DNA (36) among all species of section Kolpakowskianae.
Flowering time last days of March - the beginning of April. Distribution in Kazakhstan: very rare endemic. Occurs at stony foothills of Western Tien-Shan, canyon of Mashat river (South Kazakhstan region).
Note: Tulip was discovered by Arie Peterse on bench edges of right slope of steep Mashat Canyon directed to southwest.
It was in the beginning of April, 2005, when he participated in expedition organized by Wim Lemmers - outstanding expert in wild-growing tulips of Central Asia, and this species of tulip was named after him.

Authority
“Tulips of Kazakhstan”. Almaty, LTD “Almatykitap baspasy”. 2010, 272 p. Illustrated.

Photos
Alexander Petrov.