''Tulipa sylvestris,'' the wild tulip or woodland tulip, is a

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

n and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

n species of wild

tulip Tulips (''Tulipa'') are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in war ...

, a plant in the

lily family The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a ...

. Its native range extends from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

to western China, covering most of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

and

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, ...

Basins, and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

. The species is also cultivated as an ornamental and naturalized in central and northern Europe as well as a few scattered locations in North America. It was first recorded as being naturalised in Britain in the late 17th century.

Description

It is a bulb-forming perennial, with narrow blue-grey leaves and usually with 1 or 2 flowers per stem. The stem can reach up to 50cm tall. The scented blooms appear between April and May, and the yellow flowers are sometimes tinged red on the outside.Christenhusz, M.J.M., Govaerts, R., David, J.C., Hall, T., Borland, K., Roberts, P.S., Tuomisto, A., Buerki, S., Chase, M.W. & Fay, M.F. (2013). Tiptoe through the tulips - cultural history, molecular phylogenetics and classification of Tulipa (Liliaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 172: 280-328. They rarely produce seed and are

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, ...

by small insects. ;Subspecies * ''Tulipa sylvestris'' subsp. ''australis'' (Link) Pamp - from

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

* ''Tulipa sylvestris'' subsp. ''primulina'' (Baker) Maire & Weiller -

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

* ''Tulipa sylvestris'' subsp. ''sylvestris'' -

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

''Tulipa australis'' is also found on the island of Malta, in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

, limited to one specific area.

Habitat

It is found in dry grassy places and in woodland copses.

References

External links

Plants For a Future, Tulipa sylvestris - L.Dave's Garden Plantfiles, Florentine Tulip, Wild Tulip ''Tulipa sylvestris''Pacific Bulb Society, ''Tulipa'' Species Four
photos of several species
Care For Tulips PlantGreat Plant Picks
sylvestris Flora of Asia Garden plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Liliales-stub