Tulipa praestans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tulipa praestans | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Liliales |
| Family: | Liliaceae |
| Subfamily: | Lilioideae |
| Tribe: | Lilieae |
| Genus: | Tulipa |
| Species: | T. praestans |
| Binomial name | |
| Tulipa praestans | |
| Synonyms[2][3] | |
|
Tulipa subpraestans Vved. | |
Tulipa praestans is a species of tulip native to the mountains of Tajikistan.[2] Many well known cultivars have been formed from the original plant.[4]
It is a low-growing tulip species,[5] and has 25–45 cm (10–18 in) tall stems.[4] It has 3 to 7 grey-green leaves that are downy and fringed with hairs (ciliate).[4][5] It can have one flower (normally in the wild[4]) or it can produce multiple flowers per bulb,[6] meaning it can have a pair of flowers or up to a maximum of five flowers per bulb.[4] It blooms in April,[5] with cup shaped flowers.[5][6] The flowers are 5–6.5 cm (2–3 in) wide, in orange-red,[4] orange-scarlet,[5] or scarlet.[6] The anthers are yellow or purple.[4]
Taxonomy
The specific epithet praestans, refers to the Latin for 'remarkable',[7]' pre - eminent, superior, excellent or distinguished'.[8]
T. praestans was originally described and published by Carl Anton von Meyer in The Gardeners' Chronicle Series 3, Vol.33 on page 239 in 1903.[3][9]
Distribution and habitat
Range
It is found in Tajikistan,[9] in the Pamir-Alay mountain system.[6][4]
Habitat
It grows on rocky slopes, screes, and in light woodland,[6] at an altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft) above sea level.[6][5]
Cultivars
The following cultivars represent praestans in cultivation:
- T. praestans Fuselier;[11] grows up to 30 cm tall, with grey-green, lance-shaped leaves and stems in mid spring,[12] bearing between three and five,[4] cup-shaped, brilliant red,[12] or bright red flowers,[13] that can measure to 12 cm across.[12] It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[14] It is valued by gardeners for its low growth height and habit of producing many flowers per bulb. 'Fusilier' even has a sport, 'Unicum'.[15]
- T. praestans 'Unicum',[16] with the leaves edged in cream.[15]
- T. praestans 'Moondance',[17] - has deep orange flowers which are relatively large and have pointy petals.[10]
- T. praestans 'Zwanenburg' - Anna Pavord in her book The Tulip describes ‘Zwanenburg’ as having “.......particularly striking flowers of a rich, clear red, which open more widely than other varieties”. A taller variety at 35 cm.[5]
- T. praestans 'Shogun' - blooming in mid- to late spring, has single, cup-shaped, yellow-orange flowers, flushed red at the base.[18]
- T. praestans 'Tubergen's Variety' - has two to five flowers generally with a basal yellow suffusion and is a good doer, persisting in light soils without annual lifting.[4]