Descriprion:
In the lily family, Liliaceae. They are bulbous plants, with large, showy flowers with six petals. There are around 100 species, originating from the region from southern Europe, north Africa, and Asia from Anatolia and Iran east as far as northeast China and Japan. The centre of diversity of the genus is in the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains and the steppes of Kazakhstan.
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.
Unofficially, the flower is also emblematic of Netherlands. For instance, in an annual gesture of gratitude to Canada for liberating the nation from Nazi German tyranny in World War II, 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, and peony (see Pollan).