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Abstract
Tulipa sylvestris is a small yellow tulip that was introduced to northern Europe in the 16th century. Unlike the tulips that came from the Ottoman empire and gave birth to modern cultivars, T. sylvestris came from the Mediterranean and became a garden escapee that successfully naturalized across Europe. Its taxonomy is complex due to morphological diversity, polyploidy and naturalization of cultivated plants. Two subspecies are provisionally accepted in Europe: subsp. australis, a diploid native in the Mediterranean (up to Central Asia) that grows on mountainous rocky grasslands, on poor soils; and subsp. sylvestris a tetraploid that is naturalized across Europe and grows in rich soils at low altitudes, mainly at field margins, vineyards and gardens. Sometimes these two subspecies are regarded as distinct species, but their taxonomic delimitation is unclear.
Highlights
In an article recently published in Scientific Reports (Stefanaki et al 2022), we looked into the introduction history of T. sylvestris attempting to elucidate this species’ complex taxonomy
The Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner is known as the first who scientifically described a tulip in 1561, but his interest in this exotic flower was triggered years before, when he saw a watercolor illustration of T. sylvestris in a manuscript known as the Codex Kentmanus
The Flemish botanist Matthias De Lobel dug out bulbs of T. sylvestris from the Cevennes mountains, north of Montpellier in southern France, and sent them to Antwerp
Summary
In an article recently published in Scientific Reports (Stefanaki et al 2022), we looked into the introduction history of T. sylvestris attempting to elucidate this species’ complex taxonomy. The Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner is known as the first who scientifically described a (red) tulip in 1561, but his interest in this exotic flower was triggered years before, when he saw a watercolor illustration of T. sylvestris in a manuscript known as the Codex Kentmanus. This image was drawn after a tulip grown in the botanical garden of Padua in northern Italy, originating from material that most likely came from Bologna.
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