b&w of 4 tulips

ABOUT TULIPS

 

 

Introduction:

Here is my page for PLSC 211 through NDSU. I chose to do my page on tulips because they are not only my favorite flower but also well recognized be the general public.

 

History:

Tulips along with windmills and wooden shoes will forever be symbols of the Dutch. Originally, however, tulips were not native to Holland. They were imported from Turkey, but originally tulips came from Central Asia, which used to be under Turkish rule. A man by the name of Carolus Clusius, a Austrian court botanist in Vienna, grew tulip varieties and spread them around to fellow botanists in Europe. He is thought to be responsible for the spread of tulips as an cultivated garden plant throughout Europe.

Soon, books began to be written about the tulip and the number of varieties available grew by leaps and bounds. Books, with watercolors of different tulip varieties depicted became that time's way of cataloging or "window shopping" for tulips. These books were professionally done by artists and usually were leatherbound. Customers began to pay large sums of money in the 1630's which explained why sellers were able to invest large amounts of money in their "catalogs."

These new tulips sold for large amounts of money were termed "broken," or could be descibed as a flamed pattern. We now know that this was the cause of a virus and that broken tulips after some years are totally sick and will not have the same interesting patterns. Prices spiraled to ridiculous amounts for bulbs that neither the buyer or seller would see until delivery. Things were so out of hand that bulb growers asked the government to ban the trade.

 

redtulips

 

 

Interesting Facts:

1. Today, varieties of tulips called parrot tulips are availble that are similar to the look of the virus infected tulips from history.

2. Holland produces bulb flowers on approximately 20,000 hectacres in Holland every year.

3. Tulips are grown on approximately have of those 20,000 hectacres.

4. Holland exports more than 2 billion tulip bulbs a year

 

 

 

Parts of a Tulip:

1. Tunic: Outer papery covering of a bulb

2. Scales: White modified leaves hold stored food the bulbs need to grow and flower.

3. Basal Stem: This compressed stem connects flowers, scales, and roots of the plant.

4. Roots: Roots come out of the basal stem. The roots take up water and nutrients for the tulip.

5. Flower Bud: In the center of the bulb is the immature flower bud. This is the most tender part of the bulb. It must not freeze.

adrem single tulip

 

 

Diagram of Tulip Parts:

tulip bulb diagram

 

 

 

References:

http://library.wur.nl/desktop/tulp/history.html

http://irinasworld.com/nature4.html

Picture References:

http://liliumbreeding.nl/tulipa/

http://www97.intel.com/en/ProjectDesign

http://www.westongallery.com/dresser.htm

http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com

 

Contact: Bethany Vander Vorst