''Tulipa greigii'', (Greig's tulip) is a species of

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 warm ...

native to

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, 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 t ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Taxonomy

The Latin

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''greigi'' honors the Russian

Samuel Greig Vice-Admiral Samuel Greig, or Samuil Karlovich Greig (russian: Самуи́л Ка́рлович Грейг), as he was known in Russia (30 November 1735, Inverkeithing, Fife, Scotland – 26 October 1788, Tallinn, Governorate of Estonia, Esto ...

, (1735-1788, "Father of the Russian navy") due to Greig once being president of the Russian Horticultural Society. The tulip was originally found in

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

, and then published and described by

Eduard August von Regel Eduard August von Regel (sometimes Edward von Regel or Edward de Regel or Édouard von Regel), Russian: Эдуард Август Фон Регель; (born 13 August 1815 in Gotha; died 15 April 1892 in St. Petersburg) was a German horticultural ...

Gartenflora ''Gartenflora'' was a German illustrated botanical magazine published in the period 1852–1940. History Founded in 1852 and edited by Eduard von Regel, the botanist and future director of the Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden, the magazine ap ...

Vol.22 on page 290 in 1873.

Description

''Tulipa greigii'' typically grows tall, they have single flowers with a bowl-like shape, blooming in early to mid-spring. They also have spotted and striped leaves and the flowers are quite large, up to wide. The blooms are more limited in colour shades than with other tulips, ranging from red and yellow to white. It is known for its variegated green and purple-maroon leaves. Its cultivars 'Oratorio', 'Plaisir', 'Red Riding Hood', 'Toronto', and 'United States' have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. It was featured on a Soviet postage stamp in 1960. 1960 CPA 2497

References

External links

* http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13301419 Tulips from Kazakhstan {{Taxonbar, from=Q1545525 greigii Flora of Central Asia Flora of Iran Plants described in 1873