TULIP (tu'lip) is any of the flowering plants that make up the genus Tulipa. This genus belongs to the lily family (Liliaceae). There are about 160 species of tulips. They grow wild from Italy and Austria eastward across Asia to Japan. Common garden tulips are thought to have developed from only a few of these wild species. Plant breeders have produced thousands of garden varieties in a wide range of colors, sizes, and shapes.
Tulip blossoms are cup-shaped and grow pointing upward. Upside down they look something like a turban—in fact, the word "tulip" comes from the Turkish word for turban. The plants grow from bulbs. They do not fare well in hot climates since a cool winter period is necessary to mature the bulbs. Well-fertilized soil is best for tulips. In Europe, the United States, and Canada the bulbs are planted in the fall. The bulb contains a stem and the beginnings of the next year's flower and leaves, formed while the plant was in bloom. (See Bulb.)
There are three main classes of tulips: early flowering, which usually have short stems; midseason, long stemmed with larger blossoms; and late flowering, which have long stems and the widest range of colors.Tulips came to Europe in about 1554 from Turkey, where they were being grown before 1500. They reached the Netherlands a few years later and became extremely popular there The Dutch became so skillful in raising them that they are still the leading growers of tulip bulbs shipping large quantities all over the world. At one time tulips were so popular in the Netherlands that people paid huge prices lor new varieties. During this "tulipomania," tulip bulbs were the object of much financial speculation.
Important Types.
Because there are so many different kinds of tulips, they are divided into several classes. In each class there may
be hundreds of varieties. The three mostcommon classes are Darwin tulips, triumph tulips, and cottage tulips.
All three were developed in the Nether lands by hybridizing original species.The thick leaves of the Darwin tulip grow on a short stem. The flower stalk usually much taller. The flowers are nearly rectangular near the base. The blunt tips of the petals are slightly curved in. There are many colors of Darwin tulips. They flower in May.
The triumph tulip resembles the Darwin type but is slightly taller and blossoms about two weeks earlier. This flower too comes in various colors.
Some of the most popular tulip varieties are in the cottage class. These bloom at about the same time as the Darwins and are about the same height. Their petals, however, are not curved in. Some cottage tulips have petals that are rounded at the tip.
The tulip is a native of Asia. It was brought into Europe by way of Turkey and the Balkans. In 1960, at the first horticultural "world's fair," called the Floriade, Rotterdam celebrated the 400th anniversary of the introduction of the tulip into the Netherlands. By 1600 the country was a center of tulip production. Now millions of bulbs are cultivated each year for export. The tulip's popularity is due to its
early spring bloom and its great variety of color and form.
See also Types Of Flowers
