Tulip (Tulipa) is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family Liliaceae. They are native to southern Europe, north Africa, and Asia from Anatolia and Iran (where the flower is suggested on the nation's flag) east to northeast China and Japan. The centre of diversity of the genus is in the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains and the steppes of Kazakhstan.
They are perennial bulbous plants growing to 10-70 cm tall, with a small number of strap-shaped, waxy-textured, usually glaucous green leaves and large flowers with six tepals. The fruit is a dry capsule containing numerous flat disc-shaped seeds.
Use and history
The tulip is the national flower of Iran and Turkey, and tulip motifs feature prominently in Persian and Turkish folk arts. The European name for the flower is a misuse of the Persian word for turban, a mistake probably originating in the common Turkish custom of wearing flowers in the folds of the turban. Alternatively, the misuse may have arisen because this eastern flower, when not yet in full bloom, resembles a turban.
Unofficially, the flower is also emblematic of The Netherlands. For instance, in an annual gesture of gratitude to Canada for liberating the nation from Nazi German tyranny in World War II and for serving as a refuge for the Crown Princess (subsequently Queen Juliana), a supply of tulips is sent to be planted in Canada's national capital in Ottawa.
In both the Ottoman Empire and Netherlands, separate episodes of tulip mania struck both countries which both led to damaging speculation crashes which also contributed to the Ottoman Empire's financial decline.
Numerous cultivars have been bred for garden use. It is often considered one of humanity's "canonical flowers", along with the rose, lily, orchid
Cultivation
Tulips cannot be grown in the open in tropical climates, as they require a cold winter season to grow successfully. Manipulation of the tulip's growing temperature can, however, allow growers to "force" tulips to flower earlier than they normally would.