The article presents data on phylogeny, genome size, and ploidy of species of the genus Kalidium Moq. in the flora of Kazakhstan. Genus Kalidium belongs to the tribe Salicornieae of the subfamily Salicornioideae of the family Chenopodiaceae and unites eight species, the main range of which covers the Iranian-Turanian and Central Asian deserts. There are four species in the flora of Kazakhstan: K. foliatum, K. caspicum, K. schrenkianum, and the recently described K. juniperinum. Populations of species of the genus Kalidium in the saline deserts of Kazakhstan occupy large areas, often forming monodominant communities. Sometimes there is a joint growth of two and very rarely three species of the genus. During the period of fieldwork (2021–2022), populations were identified in which these species grew together with a predominance, in most cases, of K. caspicum. Samples of representatives from 15 populations were collected for research. Selected plant samples were studied by flow cytometry to determine plant ploidy. Sequencing of nrITS and two chloroplast fragments were used to build a phylogenetic tree, including sequences from the NCBI database., A phylogenetic tree of species of the genus Kalidium was compiled, which takes previously published data into consideration. In the valley of the middle reaches of the Syrdarya River, tetraploid populations of K. caspicum were found. A hybrid between K. foliatum and K. caspicum was found in the Ili River valley (Almaty region, Uigur district). To identify phylogenetic processes at the intraspecific level, the SCoT (Start codon targeted) fingerprinting method was used.

Polymorph Allium pallasii s.l. from monotypic A. sect. Pallasia was studied using a wide spectrum of methods and divided into two clearly morphologically, geographically, cytologically and genetically isolated species: A. pallasii s. str.—North-East Kazakhstan, Western Siberia, and the Altai Mountains; A. caricifolium—Kyrgyzstan, Northwest China, South-East Kazakhstan until Zaysan Lake in the east. Despite serious genetic differences, both species are sisters and are related to species of the A. sect. Codonoprasum (Subg. Allium). Allium caricifolium differs from A. pallasii s. str. by taller stems, dense inflorescence, and with filaments longer than perianth. The possible phylogenetic reasons for the separation of these species are discussed. A nomenclature analysis of synonyms was carried out.

The family Chenopodiaceae Vent. (Amaranthaceae s.l.) is known for its taxonomic complexity, comprising species of significant economic and ecological importance. Despite its significance, the availability of plastid genome data for this family remains limited. This study involved assembling and characterizing the complete plastid genomes of four Caroxylon Thunb. species within the tribe Salsoleae s.l., utilizing next-generation sequencing technology. We compared genome features, nucleotide diversity, and repeat sequences and conducted a phylogenetic analysis of ten Salsoleae s.l. species. The size of the plastid genome varied among four Caroxylon species, ranging from 150,777 bp (C. nitrarium) to 151,307 bp (C. orientale). Each studied plastid genome encoded 133 genes, including 114 unique genes. This set of genes includes 80 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. Eight divergent regions (accD, atpF, matK, ndhF-ndhG, petB, rpl20-rpl22, rpoC2, and ycf3) were identified in ten Salsoleae s.l. plastid genomes, which could be potential DNA-barcoding markers. Additionally, 1106 repeat elements were detected, consisting of 814 simple sequence repeats, 92 tandem repeats, 88 forward repeats, 111 palindromic repeats, and one reverse repeat. The phylogenetic analysis provided robust support for the relationships within Caroxylon species. These data represent a valuable resource for future phylogenetic studies within the genus.

This paper presents the results of the current present species composition of the genus Allium L. (Amaryllidaceae) of the western part of the Kyrgyz Alatau. The phylogeny, ploidy, and chorological data are presented, and a checklist of species of the genus Allium in the study area is compiled. The large subgenera of Allium, including Melanocrommyum, have been identified, reflecting their prevalence in the mountainous regions of Central Asia. Ploidy of some species (A. artrosanguineum and A. turkestanicum) of the genus Allium growing in the western part of the Kyrgyz Alatau were studied for the first time using flow cytometry methods. The nrITS sequencing was used to construct a phylogenetic tree including sequences from the NCBI database. The phylogenetic tree of species of the genus Allium of the Kyrgyz Alatau was compiled taking into account previously published data. The list of studied Allium species in the Kyrgyz Alatau is represented by 25 species, which include seven subgenera and 17 sections. Also, the nomenclature of onion species is brought to the modern understanding of some species names. Based on specimens of the genus Allium collected in the western part of the Kyrgyz Alatau, an integral assessment of the current species composition using molecular–genetic, cytometric, and traditional botanical methods was carried out.

The paper presents data on the phylogeny, anatomy of vegetative organs, phytocenosis composition, and ploidy of two populations of endemic Allium lehmannianum Merckl. ex-Bunge. in the flora of northeastern Betpakdala. Some discrepancies in nomenclature and sectional affiliation are discussed and corrected. Allium lehmannianum belongs to the section Multicaulea F. O. Khass. and & Yenglal. subgenus Allium, the main range covering the eastern Old Mediterranean region. The ploidy of Allium lehmannianum was studied for the first time using flow cytometry techniques. The sequencing of nrITS was used to construct a phylogenetic tree, including sequences from the NCBI database. The phylogenetic tree of A. lehmannianum was compiled by taking into account previously published data. During the fieldwork in the northeastern part of Betpakdala, the species was found to grow in a rubbly, stony, weakly undulating plain in two different communities. In this work, we applied molecular genetic, cytometric, and anatomical studies on the collected samples of two populations from the northeastern part of the Betpakdala desert to determine the taxonomic composition of a relict and endemic species of Kazakhstan.