Tulipa orphanidea is a species of flowering plant in the Liliaceae family.[2] It was described by Pierre Edmond Boissier and Theodor Heinrich Hermann von Heldreich (1862).[1][4]

Tulipa orphanidea
Flower of Tulipa orphanidea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Subfamily: Lilioideae
Tribe: Lilieae
Genus: Tulipa
Subgenus: Tulipa subg. Eriostemones
Species:
T. orphanidea
Binomial name
Tulipa orphanidea
Synonyms[2][3]

Tulipa atheniensis Orph.
Tulipa crocata Orph.
Tulipa doerfleri Gand.
Tulipa goulimyi Sealy & Turrill
Tulipa hageri Heldr.
Tulipa hayatii O.Schwarz
Tulipa hellespontica Degen
Tulipa minervae Orph. ex Baker
Tulipa orphanidea subsp. doerfleri (Gand.) Zonn.
Tulipa orphanidea subsp. whittalii (A.D.Hall) Zonn.
Tulipa orphanidea var. whittallii (A.D.Hall) Dykes
Tulipa theophrasti Candargy
Tulipa thracica Davidov
Tulipa turcica Griseb.
Tulipa whittallii A.D.Hall

Description

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Basal blotch at inner centre of tepals

Tulipa orphanidea is a bulbous perennial reaching 10–20 cm in height. Bulbs measure 20–47 x 8–22 mm. The stem is glabrous or hairy, and the leaves which vary from 2–7 reach a size of about 20x2 cm, and are green, often with a tinge of red along their edges. The stem bears 1–4 globular to star-shaped flowers with copper-red, rarely yellow and red tepals, arranged in two whorls of three. The tepals bear a black, sometimes yellow, basal blotch interiorly. The outer tepals measure 3–6 × 1–1.8 cm and the inner tepal 3–6 × 1.2–2.1 cm. The six stamens are a dark olive colour, 7–12 mm in length. The chromosome number is 2n = 36, rarely 24 or 48.[5][6][7]

Taxonomy

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The taxonomy is complex, since it is a variable population. It is placed in subgenus Eriostemones, one of four subgenera of Tulipa.[8] The species has at various times been treated as a variable taxon with a range of forms, divided into subspecies, including T. o. whittalii,[3] or as a number of different discrete species, including T. bithynica, T. hageri and T. whittallii.[9]

Distribution and habitat

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Tulipa orphanidea is found in the southeast Balkans, Bulgaria, Greece, Aegean Islands, Crete and western Turkey. Its habitat includes black pine (Pinus nigra) forests, fields and roadsides, at altitudes up to 1,700 m.[3][6][7][8] They only grow in tropical and temperate zones.[10]

Ecology

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Tulipa orphanidea blooms from April to May.[6]

Cultivation

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Tulipa orphanidea has been used s an ornamental garden plant since 1861.[6] Different colour forms are stable in cultivation and various cultivars have been developed, and given Cultivar Group names such as T. orphanidea Hageri Group and Whittallii Group. Cultivars include T. orphanidea Hageri Group ‘Splendens’.[8]

The Whittallii Group, with burnt orange inner tepals and a black blotch at the base of each tepal, has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b von Heldreich 1862.
  2. ^ a b "Tulipa orphanidea Boiss. ex Heldr". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Govaerts 2004.
  4. ^ WCSP 2017.
  5. ^ IPCN 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d Jager et al 2007.
  7. ^ a b Grey-Wilson & Matthews 1980.
  8. ^ a b c Christenhusz et al 2013.
  9. ^ Eker et al 2014.
  10. ^ Soykan, A., Meric, C. (March 2012). "Morphological and anatomical studies of Tulipa orphanidea (Liliaceae)". Google Scholar. Retrieved September 26, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Tulipa orphanidea Whittallii Group". RHS. Retrieved 5 March 2021.

Bibliography

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