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

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

n and

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

n species of wild

tulip Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different colour ...

, a plant in the lily family. Its native range extends from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

to western

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...

Basins, and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. 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 North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. 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 50 cm tall. The scented blooms appear between April and May, and the yellow flowers are sometimes tinged red on the outside. 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. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or butterflies; bird ...

by small insects.

Biochemicals

Some tuliposides - a family of biochemicals -found in ''Tulipa sylvestris'' include: * 6-tuliposide A and B * Tuliposide D * Tulipalin A and B

Subspecies

Source: Plants of the World Online * ''Tulipa sylvestris'' subsp. ''australis'' (Link) Pamp – from

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

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

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

* ''Tulipa sylvestris'' subsp. ''sylvestris'' –

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

''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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, 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 Europe Flora of North Africa Flora of temperate Asia Garden plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Liliales-stub