Morphological Variability of Generative Individuals of Rare Decorative Ephemeroids of the Northern Tien Shan As Evidence of Their Adaptive Potential

Abstract

We assessed the adaptive potential of two rare decorative species listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan : Tulipa tarda Stapf (Liliaceae) and Gymnospermium altaicum (Pall.) Spach (Berberidaceae) by studying the morphological variability of generative individuals of the species. Our studies were carried out in natural populations in the Northern Tien Shan and introduced populations of the botanical garden and urban green areas of Almaty. These species showed a high degree of adaptation under the conditions of the introduction. Moreover, Gymnospermium altaicum , accidentally introduced into the urban green area of Bukhar Zhyrau Boulevard (Almaty), had formed a naturalized population that persisted for more than 8 years. The naturalized population of Tulipa tarda in the botanical garden (Almaty), introduced more than 20 years ago by one of the authors of this article, has been in existence even longer. In the latter case, individuals of seed origin showed higher adaptive capabilities than those transferred by the bulbs of generative plants.