Greig's Tulip

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Greig's tulip is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the genus Tulip from the Liliaceae family. In Latin, the name of this plant will sound like this:

Tulipa greigii. Named after Adjutant General, Russian military and political leader Samuil Alekseevich Greig. For the first time, this type of tulip was discovered on a rocky ridge called Karatau, and described by Doctor of Philosophy, botanist and gardener Eduard Ludwigovich Regel, who at the beginning took this type of plant for one of the forms of the Altai tulip (Tulipa altaicavar.karatavica), and only in 1873 year he was awarded the title of an independent species.

Area

For growth, this flower culture chooses mountain slopes, rocky plains, and feels comfortable at an altitude of 2.5 thousand meters above sea level. The homeland of Tulip Greig is Kazakhstan, the territory of growth of flower culture begins from the northern deserts in the vicinity of the city of Kyzylorda along the Tien Shan mountain system and up to the pass of the border village of Kurdai.

Plant characteristic

Greig's tulip is a perennial bulbous plant that reaches a height of 60 centimeters. Around the strong peduncle, pubescent with villi, there are long, wide leaves with a corrugated edge of a rich green color with dark purple spots, in the amount of 3 - 5 pieces. The top of the peduncle is decorated with a lush inflorescence, reaching 15 centimeters in height, and having a goblet shape.

The perianth petals are concave with a pointed upper edge, inside which are the stamens and anthers of a dark purple color. The color of the inflorescence is usually red, yellow or orange with a black or yellowish base. Sometimes in yellow and orange inflorescences, scarlet or burgundy spots can be found on the inside of the petals.

The bulb is completely covered with leathery scales of a brown or dark brown hue, has an oval shape and can reach 4 centimeters in diameter. The roots of this flower culture are constantly changing, after serving one year, they wither and new ones grow to replace the old ones, at the beginning of spring the root generations change in the bulbs, during this period the bulb has no roots. The fruit presents itself as an elongated triangular box filled to the top with seeds; in an adult plant, the number of seeds varies from 300 to 350 pieces.

The period of active flowering of this flower culture can be observed from the first decade of April, and it lasts for about two months. Once the plant enters the dormant stage, which occurs from early June to late July, the seeds can be harvested for sowing.

At the moment, many different varieties of the considered flower culture have been bred, they are united in a group called "Greig's Tulips", and there are more than 200 representatives of this plant species. Tulips of this group captivate with the beauty of their large and bright inflorescences, as well as a variety of textures and unique color of petals. Natural forms are known, reaching a height of up to 80 centimeters, with double and fringed petals. Also, varieties of early flowering have been bred, under comfortable climatic conditions and a correctly selected flowering phase, you can enjoy the beauty of this culture all year round.

Usage

In some regions, the bulbs of the represented plant species are eaten, they are used to make all kinds of dishes or are used as auxiliary seasonings. The main culinary selection criterion is to keep the bulbs healthy, since the areas affected by diseases impair the taste, which, by the way, resemble ordinary potatoes.

In countries such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, tulip foliage is used as a pain reliever for headaches and cramps. Their tulip fruits make an infusion that helps in the period of colds and flu, as well as for diseases of the lungs and bronchi as a mucolytic agent.