April 2, 2013

Source: EurekAlert!

Situated at the foothills of the Western Tian-Shan, Kyrgyzstan is home to a diverse range of vascular plants, many of which are endemic and can only be found in very narrowly circumscribed areas. Such is the case for the onion species Allium spathulatum that had long remained undetected in spite of living within the famous Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve. Even in close proximity to the headquarters it remained unnoticed until it was finally described in 1998.

The species occurs in the low-altitude forest zone, between 1600 and 1700 m a.s.l., dwelling in river valleys, on open sunny slopes with sparse savanna-type vegetation or sheltered by stones. The plants grow clustered in small patches, suggesting the most successful establishment nearby mature plants. When originally found, the species was considered unique in the subgenus Allium because of its unusual spatule-like bracts subtending pedicels. It probably belongs to an old phylogenetic lineage that has archaic characters and is survived in very few representative species.

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