Niedzwedzkia

Niedzwedzkia is a single species genus named for the Russian botanist Vladislav Niedzwiecki. Niedzwedzkia semiretschenskia is a rare perennial flower endemic to dry, rocky hillsides in Kazakhstan, placed on the IUCN Red List in 1997. <ref name=Walter>Walter, K. S. & Gillett, H. J. (1998). 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants.</ref> <ref name=Czerepanov>Czerepanov, S. K. (2007) Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR).</ref> The plant is sometimes treated as Incarvillea, but has winged capsules and septifragal dehiscence.

Description

The plant has numerous wiry upright stems growing to a height of 45 cm from a sub-shrub base. The leaves are deeply incised with linear lobes. The orange-pink tubular flowers are 6 cm long by 4 cm across. The fruits are 5 cm long and feature six very wavy wings.<ref name=Phillips>Phillips, R. & Rix, M. (1989). Perennials, Vol. 1, p. 187. Pan Books Ltd., London. ISBN 0-330-30258-2</ref> Ploidy 2n = 22. <ref name=Chen>Chen, S. et al. (2005). Molecular phylogeny of Incarvillea (Bignoniaceae) based on ITS and TRN L-F sequences. American Journal of Botany 92 (4): 625-633. 2005.</ref>

Cultivation

The plant demands well drained dry soil in a warm position exposed to full sun; it is hardy to -15° Celsius.<ref name=Phillips/>

Accessions

• Tashkent Botanical Garden.

References

• The New Plantsman Incarvillea semiretschenskia (Fedtsch.) Grierson Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinb. 23:350 (1961)