Tulipa turkestanica
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Turkestan tulip
| image = Tulipa_turkestanica.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Tulipa
| parent = Tulipa subg. Eriostemones
| species = turkestanica
| authority = (Regel) Regel{{cite POWO | title = Tulipa turkestanica | id = 543131-1 | access-date = 18 February 2024}}
| synonyms =
- Tulipa sylvestris var. turkestanica Regel
}}
Tulipa turkestanica, the Turkestan tulip, is a species of tulip native to Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and possibly Xinjiang).Merkodovich, N.A. (ed.) (1941). Flora Uzbekistana 1: 1-566. Izd-va Akademii nauk Uzbekskoi SSR, Tashkent.Nikitina, E.V. & al (eds.) (1951). Flora Kirgizskoi SSR 3: 1-148. Frunze : Izd-vo KirgizFAN SSSR.Ovczinnikov, P.N. (ed.) (1963). Flora Tadzhikskoi SSR 2: 1-454. Izd-vo Akademii nauk SSSR, Moskva.Czerepanov, S.K. (1995). Vascular Plants of Russia and Adjacent States (The Former USSR): 1-516. Cambridge University Press. It was first described by Eduard August von Regel in 1873 as a variety of T. sylvestris, then elevated to full species status two years later.Richard Wilford, Tulips, Species and hybrids for the gardener (Portland, Timber Press 2006), 162Regel, Eduard August von 1875. Trudy Imperatorskago S.-Peterburgskago Botaniceskago Sada. Acta Horti Petropolitani 3(2):296
Description
Tulipa turkestanica is a herbaceous, bulbous perennial growing 10 cm to 15 cm tall, with 2–4 thin glaucous leaves up to 15 cm long on each stem. The margins and tips have a pinkish colour. The leathery bulb is bright reddish-brown and has a hairy tunic. Each plant produces between one and twelve1-7 according to Anna Pavord, The Tulip, London, Bloomsbury 1999, 339 star-shaped flowers, grouped in a raceme. The flowers are ivory white to pinkish red, with a yellow to orange basal blotch, which extends to about a third of the flower. The backs of the outer tepals are greyish red with a whitish fringe and much wider than the inner tepals, which have a thin, green line on the middle of their outside. The filaments are orange, and the anthers are dark violet or yellow with a violet tip,Richard Wilford, Tulips, Species and hybrids for the gardener (Portland, Timber Press 2006), 163 which distinguishes it from T. biflora that has very similar flowers but yellow anthers. It is also slightly smaller and flowers slightly earlier. The flowers only open in direct sunlight. The smell is often described as unpleasant."horrible", Anna Pavord, The Tulip, London, Bloomsbury 1999, 341 In the wild, it flowers between March and May, depending on the altitude.
Distribution
The Turkestan tulip is found in the Pamir Alai and Tien Shan; Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkestan, Iran and Dzungaria in Northwest China.[http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/TulipaSpeciesFour Pacific Bulb Society] It grows on stony slopes, river margins and rocky ledges between 1800 and 2500 m asl.Anna Pavord, The Tulip, London, Bloomsbury 1999, 341
Cultivation and uses
Tulipa turkestanica is an ornamental plant often grown in rock gardens.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/948.shtml BBC Gardening] It needs full sun. In England, it flowers in the middle of March.Richard Wilford, Tulips, Species and hybrids for the gardener (Portland, Timber Press 2006), 164 As other tulips of the Eriostemenes group, Tulipa turkestanica cannot be crossed with garden tulips.Anna Pavord, The Tulip, London, Bloomsbury 1999, 273
Tulipa turkestanica has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/18552/Tulipa-turkestanica-(15)/Details | title = Tulipa turkestanica | website = www.rhs.org | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 5 March 2021}}
File:Tulipa turkestanica a1.jpg
File:TTurkestanaZwiebel.tif|Bulb
References
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Category:Flora of Central Asia