A cup, saucer, urn, or star shaped, named for its resemblance to turban (Arabic “dulban”), a tulip flower can snuggle into the palm of your hand. And yet the popularity of tulips was so great in 17th century Holland, that a single bulb called ‘Viceroy’ changed hands for four oxen, eight pigs, twelve sheep, 1,000 pounds of cheese, and more. Is there something inherent about tulips that makes them so appealing?
Tulips came to Europe from Turkey in the middle of the 16th century. It was observed from a journey under the Ottoman Empire to Constantinople, that Turks valued tulips and would pay an amount of money deemed substantial by Europeans. Turks had been breeding tulips since the late 1400’s. After seeds and bulbs had been brought back to Europe, and were planted in Vienna, more bulbs were sent from Constantinople to Antwerp. Bulbs were also sent to Holland, where tulip cultivation reached and still carries a preeminence. “Tulipomania,” ensued from about 1634-1637, during which sports of tulips were sold for exorbitant amounts of money.
New tulip varieties are born through a virus that infects a tulip, and then creates a genetically mutated offspring by seed. Some varieties like the ‘Viceroy’ mentioned have beautiful petals that look as though they were painted by hand. As a spring bloomer, tulips provide many bold colors that are welcome after winter, and not seen by so many other spring bloomers. After being swept away by the gentle yellows and whites of Narcissis, and delicate pinks and blues of other very early flowering bulbs, the oranges and reds of tulips seem to fulfill the rest of the color palette we seek, much like in The Wizard of Oz when the movie goes from black and white to color. But perhaps the popularity of the tulip, which has been hailed as “the most familiar garden and florists’ flower,” could be attributed in the English speaking world as a simple play on the word “tulips,” which sounds like “two lips,” and is easily memorable for also feeling romantic.
Sources:
The New York Botanical Garden Encyclopedia of Horticulture, 1981