Notes on Salvia baldshuanica (Lamiaceae), an endemic species from Middle Asia

Abstract

We present a critical revision of information about rare and endangered endemic species Salvia baldshuanica (Lamiaceae), included in the Red Books of the USSR and Tajikistan. As the nomenclatural type had been missing, we assembled information on the original herbarium material performed a proper typification of the species name. A chorological analysis of the species distribution in Middle Asia was carried out. To assess the state of the current natural populations, a topographic mapping of localities (Sanglok mountains, two isolated local populations; Sarsaryak ridge, one local population) was made. A narrow edaphic confinement of plants of this species to gypsum-bearing mountain soils has been established. A taxonomic assessment of the key morphological traits of S. baldshuanica confirmed at least the sectional level of its position within the subgenus Leonia. The species was found in nature only three times – in 1883, 1937 and 1979, which confirms its exceptional rarity and high scientific interest.