Tulipa vvedenskyi

Tulipa vvedenskyi Botschantz.

Tulipa vvedenskyi is a species in the lily family (Liliaceae) native to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was described by Botschantz in 1954 and named after A. Vvedensky, a notable botanist of Central Asian flora. This tulip species is found in gravelly and stony slopes at elevations of 1500–2500 m. It flowers from April to May and fruits from June to July. The plant has an ovoid or pyriform bulb, glaucous leaves, and a solitary cup-shaped to star-shaped flower with red, orange-red, or yellow perigone segments. Cultivars such as 'Tangerine Beauty' and 'Orange Sunset' are recognized for their ornamental value and have received horticultural awards.

Description

Tulipa vvedenskyi is characterized by a bulb 2–3 cm thick, with a papery, dark-brown tunic and a glaucous, sometimes purplish, pubescent stem. It has 4–5 leaves, with a broadly lanceolate basal leaf and narrow lanceolate upper leaves. The solitary flower is cup-shaped to star-shaped, with perigone segments 4–10 cm long, red, orange-red, or yellow, often with a basal blotch. The inner tepals are obovate with pubescent tips, while the outer are rhombic. The anthers are yellow or black-violet, and the capsule is yellowish and oblong. The species is adapted to rocky habitats in the middle mountain zone. In cultivation, it has produced notable cultivars like 'Tangerine Beauty', which has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.