LILIES - RHS Lily Group

Dubrava, in upland oakwoods, alder groves, steppe ravines. Among the typical bluecoloured
form there are many variants which are of special interest for gardens. Fl. IV.
Fam. IRIDACEAE Juss.
Crocus reticulatus Stev. ex Adam.
Perennial. Virgin steppe, slopes of ravines, edges of forests. The oral report that this
species occurs on steppe slopes along the right bank of the Khoper River at Tishansky
forest enterprise and near stanitsa Upornikovskaya in the Nekhaevsky district has not
been confirmed (after our investigation in fact it happened to be Bulbocodium versicolor).
There is data that this species grows somewhat to the south-east, in Sholokhovsky
district of the Rostov region (Fedyaeva, 2004). Edge of wood-steppe plants. Fl. III.
Apparently it may be missed because of very early flowering.
Gladiolus tenuis Bieb. (G. imbricatus auct., G. apterus Klok.)
Perennial. Birch groves, meadows and glades in Shakinskaya Dubrava (Drobov,
1906); salty water meadows of the Buzuluk River. Rather seldom (environs of stanitsas
Fedoseevskaya, Kumilzhenskaya, Slaschevskaya, Alexeevskaya, Upornikovskaya). Edge
of wood-meadow plants. Fl. V-VI. Included in the Red Data Book of Volgograd region
(2005). It flowers beautifully near khutor Pomalinsky of Alexeevsky district, in a water
meadow along the Buzuluk River.
Besides Gladiolus, there are four species of the wild irises in the Park (Iris aphylla L.,
I. halophila Pall., I. pseudacorus L. è I. pumila L.). The rarest among them are I. aphylla
and I. pumilla, highly decorative and flowering at the same time as tulips and Fritillaria.
Fam. LILIACEAE Juss.
Fritillaria meleagris L.
Perennial. Floodland meadows of Khoper River. Extremely rare. It was identified once by
A.I. Kuvaldina (1982) in the environs pf stanitsa Ust-Buzulukskaya of Alexeevsky district,
but we have not been able to confirm this. It was possibly a mistake in identification,
and in fact Fritillaria meleagroides was collected. Moreover, this species is absent in
the Flora of the Lower Volga area (Sagalaev, 2006b). Meadow plants. Fl. V.
F. meleagroides Patrin ex Schult. et Schult. fil.
Perennial. Floodland meadows of rivers Khoper, Don and Buzuluk, environs of stanitsa
Bukanovskaya and stanitsa Alexeevskaya (between khutors Pomalinsky and Lipky).
Seldom. Meadow plants. Fl. V.
F. ruthenica Wikstr.
Perennial. Edges and glades of upland woods, edges of shrubby thickets in steppe ravines,
penetrates under the canopy of forests. Seldom (environs of stanitsas Bukanovskaya,
Slashchevskaya, Ust-Buzulukskaya, Lukovskaya, villages Shakin, Akishevsky, etc.). Edge
of wood and woody plants. Included in the Red Data books of Russia (1988, 2005) and
of the Volgograd region (2005). Fl. IV-V.
Gagea bulbifera (Pall). Salisb.
Perennial. Steppe slopes, chalk hills, saline soils. Common. Petrophilous-steppe plants.
Fl. IV-V.
G. erubescens (Bess.) Schult. & Schult. f.
Perennial. Edges of upland oak woods, shrubby thickets, grassy slopes of steppe ravines.
Until now it has not been found in the Park, but it was identified in this area without
mentioning the exact places (Sagalaev, 2000). Of seldom occurrence at Sholokhovsky
district of Rostov region (Fedyaeva, 2004). Edge of wood-meadow-steppe plants. Fl.
III-IV. Apparently it is missed by collectors because of very early flowering.
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