Kolpakovsky Tulip is described from the vicinity of Almaty by E.L.Regel in 1877. It was named after G.A.Kolpakovsky who was an honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society, governor of the Semirechye region.

It grows in clayey and sandy deserts along the plains of the foothills and in the lower belt of the Dzungar, Zaili, Kirghiz Alatau, and also in the Chu-lli Mountains across the south of the Zhambyl region. It has a thin stem, up to 30 cm tall, with three leaves and a yellow flower up to 5-6 cm tall. It blooms from mid-April to early May; its fruit ripens in June.

The density of populations is high - up to 100 specimens on 1 m2, but the share generative seldom exceeds 10-20%. The number is reduced under the influence of unregulated grazing and as a result of plowing land for agricultural crops. One part of the population is protected in the Almaty Nature Reserve as well as in the national parks lle-Alatau and Altyn-Emel. It grows not bad