Tulipa gesneriana

Tulipa gesneriana
Tulipa gesneriana in Bogdo-Baskunchak Nature Reserve, Astrakhan Oblast, Russia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Liliaceae
Genus:	Tulipa
Species:	T. gesneriana
Binomial name
Tulipa gesneriana L.
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy Tulipa coronaria Salisb. Tulipa hortensis Gaertn. Tulipa stricta Stokes Tulipa pubescens Willd. Tulipa cornuta Redouté Tulipa laciniata Fisch. ex Bellerm. Tulipa campsopetala Delaun. ex Loisel. Tulipa stenopetala Delaun. ex Loisel. Tulipa bonarotiana Reboul Tulipa strangulata Reboul Tulipa media C.Agardh ex Schult. & Schult.f. Tulipa repens Fisch. ex Sweet Tulipa bicolor Raf. Tulipa scabriscapa Fox-Strangw. Tulipa unguiculata Raf. Tulipa neglecta (Reboul) Reboul Tulipa serotina Reboul Tulipa variopicta Reboul Tulipa spathulata Bertol. Tulipa didieri Jord. Tulipa fransoniana Parl. Tulipa platystigma Jord. Tulipa billietiana Jord. Tulipa mauritiana Jord. Tulipa planifolia Jord. Tulipa mauriana Jord. & Fourr. Tulipa acutiflora DC. ex Baker Tulipa elegans Baker Tulipa fulgens Baker Tulipa retroflexa Baker Tulipa mauriannensis Didier Tulipa macrospeila Baker Tulipa connivens Levier Tulipa etrusca Levier Tulipa lurida Levier Tulipa passeriniana Levier Tulipa sommieri Levier. Tulipa baldaccii Mattei Tulipa marjolletii E.P.Perrier & Songeon Tulipa segusiana E.P.Perrier & Songeon Tulipa saracenica E.P.Perrier Tulipa perrieri Marj. ex P.Fourn. Tulipa grengiolensis Thommen Tulipa montisandrei J.Prudhomme Tulipa rubidusa Lieser Tulipa sedunii Lieser Tulipa norvegica Lieser

Tulipa gesneriana, the Didier's tulip^[2] or garden tulip, is a species of plants in the lily family, cultivated as an ornamental in many countries because of its large, showy flowers. Its region of origin is not entirely certain, but the species is widely believed to have originated in Turkey, as is the case with many species of tulips that came into Europe from the Ottoman Empire.^[1] It has become naturalised in parts of central and southern Europe^[3] and scattered locations in North America.^[4] Most of the cultivated forms of tulip are derived from Tulipa gesneriana.

This tall, late-blooming species has a single blooming flower and linear or broadly lanceolate leaves.

When the tulip originally arrived in Europe from the Ottoman Empire, its popularity soared and it quickly became a status symbol for the newly wealthy merchants of the Dutch Golden Age. As a mosaic virus began to infect bulbs, producing rare and spectacular effects in the bloom but weakening and destroying the already limited number of bulbs, a speculative frenzy now known as tulip mania was triggered between 1634 and 1637. Bulbs were exchanged for land, livestock, and houses, and the Dutch created futures markets where contracts to buy bulbs at the end of the season were bought and sold.^[5] A single bulb, the Semper Augustus, fetched 6,000 florins in Haarlem — at that time, a florin could purchase a bushel of wheat.

The flower and bulb can cause dermatitis through the allergen, tuliposide A, even though the bulbs may be consumed with little ill effect. The sweet-scented bisexual flowers appear during April and May. Bulbs are extremely resistant to frost and can tolerate temperatures well below freezing — a period of low temperature is necessary to induce proper growth and flowering, triggered by an increase in sensitivity to the phytohormone auxin.^[6]

The bulbs may be dried and pulverised and added to cereals or flour.

References

1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
2. "Tulipa gesneriana". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
3. Altervista Flora Italiana, Tulipano di von Gesner, Tulipa gesneriana L.
4. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
5. Goldgar, Anne, Tulipmania: Money, Honor, and Knowledge in the Dutch Golden Age, University of Chicago Press, p. 322.
6. Rietveld, Patrick L.; Wilkinson, Claire; Franssen, Hanneke M.; Balk, Peter A.; van der Plas, Linus H.W.; Weisbeek, Peter J.; de Boer, A. Douwe, "Low temperature sensing in tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.) is mediated through an increased response to auxin", Journal of Experimental Botany, v.51, no. 344, March, 2000, p. 587-594.

External links