Tulip Trivia - Daffodil Trivia - Hyacinth Trivia

Some facts you might not know about Tulips ...

Tulips are native to Persia and have been cultivated since AD 1000.

Named so because it resembled the colourful Turkish tulband (turban). The word was later corrupted to tulipan, and much later, abbreviated to tulip.

The ancient Turks used to brew a love potion from tulips and many cultures consider tulips to be the symbol of perfect love.

Tulips were one of the most sought after luxury items of the 17th Century. At this time Tulip bulbs were a type of currency unto themselves, with their value fluctuating wildly day to day. This "Tulipmania" caused a major market crisis in 1637 with speculation ruining a good many traders.

The highest price ever paid for a tulip, however, was in Turkey. The Turks were the original Tulip lovers and it was from them the Dutch acquired their first bulbs in the late 1500s. By the early 1700s, it was the Turks who were importing bulbs from Holland. Sultan Ahmed III was the first to do so, but it proved a fatal attraction. When Sultan Ahmed was brought to trial, his crimes included "having spent too much money on the traditional annual tulip festivals". The sentence: beheading (not dead heading).

[Photo: Lily Flowered Tulip: Mariette - 0383]

An early 17th century bill of sale recorded the following transaction for one single Tulip bulb:

• Two loads of wheat
• Four loads of rye
• Four fat oxen
• Eight fat swine
• Twelve fat sheep
• Two hogsheads of wine
• Four barrels of beer
• Two barrels of butter
• 1,000 pounds of cheese
• A marriage bed with linens
• A sizeable wagon to haul it all away.
• "And a partridge in a pear tree"

Now largely associated with the Netherlands, Holland produces over 3 billion tulip bulbs each year.

The French became obsessed with the Tulip during the reign of Louis XIV, when women tucked Tulips into their underwear (talk about frilly knickers). The more expensive the tulip, the more important the woman!

Tulips are related to the onion and are edible. The flower petals can be used in salads or to make wine, and the bulbs can be sliced and fried. In Japan they make a type of flour from tulips.

Tulips are the only flower that continues to grow in the vase after being cut up to 8cm (3").

There is no such thing as a Black Tulip, they are actually very dark purple other than that Tulips come in virtually every colour including green!