Tulipa linifolia
has striking flowers of brilliant red, each bloom
punctuated with a jet black eye, the petals reflective with a silky sheen.
The species is native to Central Asia, in such places as Uzbekistan.
The leaves are narrow, wavy, and grayish. Flower
stems start out at 4" - 5" (8 - 12.5 cm) tall, and later
lengthen to
about 8" (20 cm). Blooms in May, opening its first flowers
just after the yellow Tulipa stellata ssp. chrysantha, shown
flowering on the right.
In the photo below, the color rendition is a bit off, looking somewhat
rosy-red, but the flowers are indeed screaming vermilion red. The
flowers open flat, and gently curve backwards in a pleasing effect. In
this
position, notice how the wide petals create a nearly rotate bloom, with
abruptly acuminate tips, a distinguishing characteristic of this species.
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Regarding
taxonomy, this species comes closest to T. maximowiczii,
which looks very similar but lacks the central black zone.
It is written that T. batalinii is merely
a color form of T. linifolia. Often
seen is the non-committal phrase; the "linifolia-Batalinii
group" when
referring to the two species. While it is understood that some Tulipa
batalinii cultivars are actually hybrids with T. linifolia (such as
with T. batalinii 'Bronze Charm'),
personally I do not understand
how linifolia and batalinii could be considered the same,
as clearly they are physically distinct on many accounts.
Photos by Mark
McDonough
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