Tulip

The Dutch are synonymous with tulips and their love affair has lasted more than 400 years. Many of us assume tulips grow wild in Holland; however, that’s not the case.

For the origins of tulips, look to central Asia. The prime genetic center is located in the Tien-Shan and the Pamir Alai Mountain Ranges near modern day Islamabad, close to the border of Russia and China. From these areas tulips spread; tulips are also found in China and Mongolia to the east and other regions to the west and northwest.

A secondary genetic center developed in Azerbaijan and Armenia. There are probably no more than 150 tulips species native to Europe. These species tulips feature small flowers. Over the years, humans have breed tulips to produce large and colorful flowers.

Tulips have special features to make their home in the mountains:

• Plants go dormant in the winter to survive cold temperatures.
• Tulips have an underground structure, a bulb, that serves as food storage. Some bulbs even have a thick hairy layer, hence the nickname “wooly tulips.”
• Tulips are phototropic, meaning they are effected by light. Flowers track the sun as it crosses the sky. The warm flower center offers an inviting welcome to pollinators.

The Turks were the first to fall in love with tulips. Evidence suggest that tulips were cultivated as early as 1,000 A.D. in the Ottoman Empire, also know as the Turkish Empire. The reign of Sultan Ahmed III, from 1718-1730, is known as the “Tulip Era.” Tulips became a part of daily life and tulip motifs were represented on clothing, carpet and tile designs. Large tulip gardens were created for the upper class.

Holland’s fascination with tulips started when Carolu Clusius, Holland’s curator of the Hourtus Botanical Garden at Leiden, received seeds from the Viennese ambassador to the Ottoman Court of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Clusius cultivated the bulbs and sold them, however, thieves stole the tulips from his garden. Soon, the new flower spread throughout the town, thus beginning Holland’s love affair with the tulip.

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