Description
This species is very rarely offered. It has large, elongated bright flowers somewhat resembling T. kaufmanniana however the flowers do not open so widely as in T. kaufmanniana and they are are a different colour – yellow with a red back of outer segments. It also differs in its erect habit, its folded carinate leaves with pronounced midribs and by the lack of an orange-yellow blotch at the base of the petals. For those interested further, both the shape and the margin of the seeds are different also. If it has another close relative, then that would probably be T. tschimganica, but it can be instantly distinguished from that species, as T. anadroma lacks a red mark at the base of the petals (on the inside).
If you are not familiar with the central Asian species then there is perhaps a superficial similarity to T. ferghanica but T. anadroma flowers much earlier and has differently-shaped leaves, flowers and capsule, as well as a different mode of dehiscence (pollen shedding) of the anthers.
Despite its rarity in the wild, this is a very good grower here and it flowers freely in sunshine, making 30cm tall stems bearing all-yellow flowers which have a pleasant honey scent. Only the outer petals have any red colourations and it is only when the flower is mature, that this central red stripe becomes prominent. It is lacking totally in some flowers.
Known only from Sary Chelek National Reserve, in the Chatkal’skiy Mountain range, near Lake Sarychelek. Our stock was grown from seeds received from Bishkek Botanical Garden.
(Originally described in 1961 by Botschantzeva, ZP. Bot. Mater. Gerb. Inst. Bot. Zool. Akad. Nauk Uzbeksk. S.S.R.)
First offered by us May 2016.
