It’s fair to say the Dutch people seem really wild about tulips! 🌷 They are everywhere, in every colour and composition imaginable, through a hybridisation process that has lasted over 400 years and still continues. There is even a book called Tulipomania explaining the fad that took hold regarding this flower.
Each genetically modified design has a different commercial name; here are just a few:
Armada
Kansas
Golden melody
Queen of Night
Golden Artist
Not only are they sold as bulbs, but the flowers are recreated in oil paintings, plastic decorations, china crockery and even wallpaper.
But where is the original tulip, the Wild Tulip, Tulipa sylvestris? 🤔
Tulipa sylvestris, the Wild Tulip, or Woodland Tulip, is an Eurasian and North African species of plant in the lily family. “It was introduced from the Mediterranean to northern Europe in the sixteenth century and became widely naturalized”. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-13378-9)
Who first introduced tulips to Europe is not completely clear, but it may well have been the “French diplomat and naturalist Pierre Belon” (ibid) around 1540, during his travels in the Orient.
Yes, though you may have thought Tulips are native flowers to Holland, they were introduced, albeit about more than 400 years ago.
“The Netherlands, known for its tulips, is the world’s largest producer and exporter of tulip bulbs. In 2021, the value of the tulip bulb export in the Netherlands was over 250 million euros.” https://oggardenonline.com
However, still keen to find the original Wild Tulip species, the search ended up at the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam. Of course, to see any tulip in bloom one must see them in the spring, but now, in late summer/early autumn, seeking them as a bulb for planting is the only option. After discussion with two very helpful staff at the gardens, they explain that they do have Wild Tulip bulbs, though not for sale to the public, but planted in their grounds. Unfortunately, their location is not in a public area; however, they show me on the computer evidence on their database that they are there.
It would have been more eventful to have found the Wild Tulip, or Woodland Tulip, as bulbs that could have been planted, but at least we found them. It’s rather a pity that the hybridised colourful versions have completely taken over the sales markets from the original wild species: I wonder what the pollinators think about that…🐦🐝🦋🪲
#RebelBotanists 