Plants & Crops Codexery

Tulip

Spring-blooming bulbous geophytes with showy, colourful flowers.

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It is believed that the word "tulip" originates from a Turkish term for turban, due to a perceived similarity in shape.[1]

Scientific classification

  1. CladeTracheophytes
  2. CladeAngiosperms
  3. CladeMonocots
  4. OrderLiliales
  5. FamilyLiliaceae
  6. SubfamilyLilioideae
  7. GenusTulipa

Named by L.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Tulip (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick Facts

Type species
Tulipa gesneriana
Diversity
About 75 species

Facts from the source article.

Biology and range

The perianth is undifferentiated and biseriate, formed from six free caducous tepals arranged into two separate whorls of three parts each.[2] These plants are geophytes with bulbs, herbaceous and perennial, flowering in spring then retreating to an underground storage bulb.[3] Bulb diameter ranges from a minimum of 1 cm up to a maximum of 5 cm.[3] Most plants have between two and six leaves, though certain species can have as many as twelve.[4]

The leaves are cauline, strap-shaped, coated with wax, and arranged alternately on the stem.[4] Six distinct stamens, which are basifixed and introrse, are present, organized into two whorls of three.[5] The fruit is a capsule that is either globose or ellipsoid, with a leathery texture.[6]

What the specialist sources record

The Amsterdam Tulip Museum states that the tulip began its life as a wildflower in the Pamir and Tien Shan ranges of Central Asia and the mountains of the Caucasus.[7] The same source notes that wild tulips raise their blooms only a few inches above the ground in a limited palette of brilliant reds, yellows and oranges.[7] The Amsterdam Tulip Museum reports that tulips were cultivated in Persia as early as the 10th century.[7] A 2021 article states that the name "tulipam" first appeared in writing in 1554 in a letter from Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq.[8]

The Rijksmuseum notes that a rare 17th-century tulip book contains 104 drawings of many tulip varieties and several carnations.[9] The Rijksmuseum also states that the high prices indicated for the flowers tie in directly with the 'tulip mania' of the period.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Tulip" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The tulip name comes from the Turkish word for turban", 2021-01-12 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Tulip" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pollan, "The Botany of Desire", Random House, 2002, p. 95 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Tulip" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wilford, "Tulips : species and hybrids for the gardener", Timber Press, 2006, p. 23, 26 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Tulip" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: King 2005, p. 164; Tenenbaum 2003, p. 395; Christenhusz et al 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Tulip" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Grey-Wilson Matthews 1980; Grey-Wilson Matthews 1980 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Tulip" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Straley Utech 2003; Botschantzeva 1982; Grey-Wilson Matthews 1980 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "The Tulip Diaspora", Amsterdam Tulip Museum. facts only, no text reused. amsterdamtulipmuseum.com
  8. "The tulip name comes from the Turkish word for turban", 2021-01-12. facts only, no text reused. tulipmania.art
  9. "Tulpenboek uit Collectie Six", Rijksmuseum.nl. facts only, no text reused. rijksmuseum.nl

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Tulip (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Test yourself on TriviaCafe: To which biological family does the tulip belong: Cucurbitaceae, Liliaceae, Violaceae or Asteraceae? · What flower is associated with the Netherlands? · More science trivia

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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