Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Tulipa

tulip, tulipe, tulipán
Habit Herbs, perennial, scapose or subscapose, bulbose; bulbs often stoloniferous, tunicate, papery to coriaceous; tunics variously hairy or glabrous adaxially.
Leaves

2–6(–12), cauline, alternate, reduced distally;

blade linear to oblong, somewhat fleshy.
Inflorescences

1(–4)-flowered, bracts usually absent.
Flowers

perianth campanulate to cup-shaped;

tepals caducous, 6, distinct, often blotched near base, petaloid, ± equal;

nectaries absent;

stamens 6, distinct;

filaments shorter than tepals, basally dilated;

anthers basifixed, linear to narrowly elliptic, introrse;

ovary superior, 3-locular;

style very short or absent;

stigma prominently 3-lobed.
Fruits

capsular, ellipsoid to subglobose, 3-angled, leathery, dehiscence loculicidal.
Seeds

many, in 2 rows per locule, flat.
x

= 12.

Tulipa
Distribution
from USDA
North America; temperate Eurasia (especially c Asia, w Asia); n Africa; cultivated worldwide [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species ca. 150 (1 in the flora).

The common garden tulip (Tulipa gesneriana Linnaeus) and a number of other species (T. bakeri Hall, T. clusiana de Candolle, T. fosteriana Hoog ex W. Irving, T. kaufmanniana Regel, T. tarda Stapf), as well as a vast array of complex hybrid cultivars, are commonly planted for their spring flowers. Over 3500 names applied to tulips are currently listed (J. van Scheepen 1996). While some of these species or cultivars may persist for a short time, they rarely become truly naturalized in the flora. Taxonomic difficulties abound in Tulipa due to their long-established cultivation, hybridization, and selection.

Viral infection of tulips results in odd, yet often attractive, colored streaks in the flowers. In the early 1600s these variants, called “broken” tulips, became prized in the Netherlands, widely sought, and worth considerable money. The ensuing “tulipomania” lead to widespread trading, speculation, and then, as with most similar fads, a sudden market collapse in 1637 (W. Blunt 1950; M. Dash 1999; F. A. Stafleu 1963).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 199. Authors: Gerald B. Straley†, Frederick H. Utech.
Parent taxa Liliaceae
Subordinate taxa
T. sylvestris
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 305. (1753): Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 145. (1754)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers