Botanical excursions in Karkaraly park.

“As soon as man seeks to penetrate the secrets of nature - in which nothing is secret and it is but a question of seeing - he realizes that the simple produces the supernatural” 

Honore de Balzac.

Photos of Karkaraly park.

The flora of the Karkaraly National Natural Park includes 198 species of angiosperms, 3 gymnosperms, 2 fern species, 27 species of mosses, 14 species of lichens registered at present, although according to literary sources their number can reach about 800 species.
This is three times more than in the adjacent steppe zone. Of the 244 species, 5 are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Karkaraly barberry, smooth sphagnum, Kyrgyz birch, thin poppy, spring adonis.
Thanks to the specific micro-climate of the Karkaraly Mountains the flora differs from floras of the neighboring steppes. Among the plants that can be found are endemics such as the Berberis karkaralensis and the Karkaralinsk campion.
Many rare plants including the Sphagnum teres, the Papaver tenelkim, the Adonis wolgensis and the Betula kirghisorum are regitered in the Red Book. The Siberian stone pine (Pinus sibirica) and the birch are predominant in the forest, alongside with the aspen and the willow.
The most wide-spread shrub is the juniper. At the territory of the mountain oasis a lot of animals can be found; the most popular among them are the elk (Alces palmata), the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), the deer (Cervidae), the squirrel (Sciurus), the badger (Meles meles), the marmot (Arctomys marmorata), the lynx (Lynx), the wolf (Canis lupus), the wild boar (Sus scrofa), the fox (Vulpes) and the hare (Leporidae). The Karaganda argali (Ovis ammon collium) registered in the Red Book also lives there. Among the birds the black grouse (Tetrao), the partridge (Lagopus lagopus), the woodpecker (Dendrocopos), the crow (Corvus) can be enumerated, as well as such rare species as the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), the black stork (Ciconia nigra), the saker falcon (Falco cherrug) and the eagle-owl (Bubo bubo).
The best way to get acquainted with the specimen of the flora and fauna of the Karkaraly Mountains is to visit the Nature Museum and the Wild Animals Enclosure in Tasbulak. In the flora of the Karkaraly and Kent mountain forests, there are a large number of endemic and boreal plants.
Rare and endangered plant species include: Karkaralynsky wheatgrass, Karkaralynsky barberry, thin poppy, white-billed aconite, Umbrellas winteris, Green-flowered greens, Rotundifolia greens, Common thyme, Siberian yellows, Siberian saxifrage, Red-fronted minarea, Lentium minarea, Spring chickweed, Chickweed, Chickweed, Lentus chymera, Chrysanthemum, Chamomile chrysanthemum, Chamomile chrysanthemum, Chamomile chrysanthemum, Chamomile chymera, Chamomile chymera narrow-leaved ash-tree, Fuchsa orchis, Adiantum venereum hair, blue anemone, common eye, Kamchatka nesting, Pallas honeysuckle, perforated St. John's wort, serpentine foreign, viburnum ordinary, Zalessky feather grass feather, feathery feather, yellow capsule, white water lily, leafless chin, leaf worm, wormwood smooth, licorice bare, sphagnum smooth, three-lobed meadowsweet, drooping tulip, sandwort crustacean, male Shcholatka, Schistolidae male, Schistolidae male, Schistolidae needle clove, euphorbia small-fruited, iris reddish-bellied, open cross, anemone blue, forest anemone, Alpine circe, dissected violet, squat, forget-me-not Asian, tender poppy and some e others.

Authority:
ttp://karkaralinsk-park.ru/about_parks.php

Photos
Alexander Petrov.