Pyrus browiczii: Red Data Book of Armenia

CR B 1 ab(iii) + 2 ab(iii)

Category. Critically endangered species. Endemic of Armenia. Only one population is known. The extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are less than 10 km2. It was not included in the first edition of the Red Data Book of Armenia. It is not included in the Annexes of CITES and that of the Bern Convention.

Description. Tree up to 15 m, with broadly pyramidate crown and thick spines. Leaves elliptic, large, 6–8 x 3–5 cm, unequal minute– crenate–dentate, thin, glabrous; petioles up to 4 cm long. Fruits with early deciduous calyx lobes, pyriform, 3–4 cm long, smooth; pedicules up to 6 cm long.

Distribution. In Armenia it grows only in Darelegis (Yeghegis river gorge, surroundings of Hermon and Vardahovit villages) floristic region. AOO is 8 km2, the number of locations is 1.

Ecological, biological and phytocoenological peculiarities. Grows in upper mountain belt, at the altitude of 1700–2100 meters above sea level, in broad–leaved forests, at the edges of fields and forests, in the meadows. Flowering from April to May, fruiting from June to September.

Limiting factors. Restricted extent of occurrence and area of occupancy.

Conservation actions. No conservation actions. Necessary: survey on population numbers and range, search of new habitats, monitoring of the state of the population.