One-day botanical tours for tulips of Kazakhstan -
Botanical tulip tour from Almaty to Zhambly region -
The Tulipa orthopoda is a rare and graceful representative of the wild, striking in its slimness and tenderness. Its elegant silhouette, as if painted by nature itself, adorns the spring steppes and foothills of Kazakhstan. The name tulips speak for itself: a strong, erect stem and a star-shaped flower create an image of true grace. The tulip flower is its main decoration. White and cream petals with a sunny yellow center fully open on sunny days, turning into a shining star among the steppe expanses. The tulip was first described in 1935 by Alexei Ivanovich Vvedensky, a Russian florist and botanist who studied the flora of Central Asia. The tulip blooms in April-May, and bears fruit in June.
The Straight–Legged Tulip is a symbol of the resilience and beauty of the wild. Join our botanical tours to see it with your own eyes and keep unforgettable memories!
How to find see and view -
The Straight–Legged Tulip (Tulipa orthopoda) grows exclusively on the territory of Kazakhstan, Karatau mountain range, Turkestan region, Zhambyl region, Berkara Gorge, Berkara National Botanical Reserve.
Information -
If you want to capture the beauty of the Straight–Legged Tulip and other tulip hybrids in their natural environment, our company offers unique photo tours, guided tours and botanical tours. Our routes are laid out through the places of mass tulip blooming, where you can take amazing shots. Our guides know where to find the most picturesque places to shoot. You will be able to capture tulips against the background of steppes, mountains and the endless sky. We will help you choose the right lighting and composition so that your photos become real works of art. We take care of nature, so our tours are organized with minimal impact on the environment. For those who want to learn more about the Straight-legged tulip, we offer guided tours with experienced botanical guides. Our excursions are not just walks, but a real immersion in the world of wildlife. You will learn about how the tulip was discovered, how it adapted to harsh conditions, and why it is so important to the ecosystem. We conduct master classes on plant identification, herbarium collection and study of the flora of the region. Our excursions are organized so that you can enjoy nature without unnecessary worries. For scientists, students and lovers of botany, we offer specialized botanical tours. These tours include: watching the flowering, you will be able to see wild tulips of Kazakhstan during their mass flowering, which is a rare and impressive sight. We are conducting research on tulip populations, and you can take part in them. For scientists and students, we offer the opportunity to collect data that can be used in scientific work.: We know everything about tulips and are ready to share this knowledge with you. We only offer places where nature has preserved its pristine beauty. We teach our guests to take care of fragile ecosystems.
The Straight–Legged Tulip (Tulipa orthopoda) is not just a flower, it is a symbol of harmony and natural grace. Join our tours to see this miracle with your own eyes and create unforgettable memories!
Detailed description -
The Straight–Legged Tulip (Tulipa orthopoda) is a unique miniature species, distinguished by its graceful beauty and early flowering. Its bulb is up to 1.5 cm in diameter and is covered with leathery reddish-brown scales, which are densely pubescent with long cobwebbed hairs from the inside. The leaves, usually two in number, are very close together, almost opposite, linear and much longer than the flower. The stem is almost not pronounced, and the flowers on short, non-drooping pedicels are collected in small "bouquets" of 2-3 pieces or are single. The flowers are small, up to 2-2.5 cm high, white with a bright yellow base, which gives them a special sophistication. The staminate filaments and anthers are yellow, with a characteristic hairy ring at the base. The fruit is a capsule up to 2.7 cm high and 1.5 cm wide, containing up to 80 normally developed seeds. The plant reproduces both by seeds and vegetatively. The flowering period falls at the end of March – April, and fruiting occurs in late May – early June.
The straight-legged tulip is found on clay and rocky slopes of low mountains, mainly in the Karatau range (South Kazakhstan and Zhambyl regions). This species is endemic, meaning it grows only in this region. It is little known in culture, but it was tested by Z.P. Bochantseva in Tashkent, and in Almaty it was first studied by academician N.V. Pavlov. In the collections, individuals transferred by bulbs bloomed for more than 10 years, gradually falling out. Individuals of vegetative origin that appear in large numbers bloom singly. The laboratory germination rate of seeds is 52-66%, the dormancy period is 21 days, as in desert species, but germination is more protracted and lasts up to 40 days. Seedlings bloom for the first time in the 5th year of life. This original dwarf species is of great interest to rock gardens due to its very early flowering and intensive vegetative reproduction. The Erect-legged tulip is partially protected in the Berkara Botanical Reserve. However, individuals from this population may have a hybrid origin, as they possess intermediate morphological features that bring them closer to the species Tulipa turkestanica.
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