Tulipa humilis

Tulipa humilis
Tulipa humilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Liliaceae
Subfamily:	Lilioideae
Tribe:	Lilieae
Genus:	Tulipa
Subgenus:	Tulipa subg. Eriostemones
Species:	T. humilis
Binomial name
Tulipa humilis Herb. [1]
Varieties [2]
Tulipa humilis var. aucheriana(Baker) Christenh. Tulipa humilis var. humilis Tulipa humilis var. kurdica(Wendelbo) Christenh. Tulipa humilis var. pulchella(Fenzl ex Regel) Christenh. Tulipa humilis var. violacea(Boiss. & Buhse) Christenh.
Synonyms [3]
Synonymy Tulipa lowneiBaker Tulipa lownei var. hayneiBaker Tulipa caucasicaLipsky Tulipa violacea var. pallidaHausskn. Tulipa lipskyiGrossh. Tulipa narcissiodoraMarkgr. Tulipa humilis subsp. matinaeZojajifar & Sheidai

Tulipa humilis is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, found in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey, Iran, and the North Caucasus region of Russia. ^[3] The flowers are pink with yellow centers. Its preferred habitat are rocky mountain slopes. ^{[1] [4] [5]} It is known by several other names in horticulture. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]}

Varieties and synonyms

Tulipa humilis is a very variable species in both size and the appearance of the flowers. Five varieties are accepted, ^[2] and different synonyms are used in horticulture.

• Tulipa humilis var. aucheriana(Baker) Christenh. (synonyms Tulipa aucherianaBaker and T. aucheriana subsp. westiiMouterde) – southeastern Turkey, Anti-Lebanon, Iran, and Afghanistan. ^[11] Cultivated plants can be treated as a cultivar group, T. humilis Aucheriana Group. ^[9]
• Tulipa humilis var. humilis (synonyms Tulipa caucasicaLipsky, T. humilis subsp. matinaeZojajifar & Sheidai, T. lipskyiGrossh., T. lowneiBaker, T. lownei var. hayneiBaker, T. narcissiodoraMarkgr., and T. violacea var. pallidaHausskn.) – southeastern Turkey, Anti-Lebanon, North Caucasus, and northern Iran. ^[12]
• Tulipa humilis var. kurdica(Wendelbo) Christenh. (synonym Tulipa kurdicaWendelbo) – northern Iraq ^[13]
• Tulipa humilis var. pulchella(Fenzl ex Regel) Christenh. (synonyms Tulipa pulchella(Fenzl ex Regel) Baker, T. sylvestris var. pulchellaFenzl ex Regel, T. alpinaJ.Gay ex Baker) – southern and south-central Turkey, northern Iraq, and northern Iran. ^[14] Cultivated plants are in the T. humilis Pulchella Group. ^[9]
• Tulipa humilis var. violacea(Boiss. & Buhse) Christenh. (synonym Tulipa violaceaBoiss. & Buhse) – southeastern Transcaucasus. ^[15] Cultivated plants are in the T. humilis Violacea Group. ^[9]

Cultivation

Under the synonym Tulipa aucheriana this plant has been given the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. ^[16]

References

1. Edwards's Bot. Reg. 30(Misc.): 30 (1844)
2. "Tulipa humilis Herb". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 9 September 2025.
3. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
4. Pacific Bulb Society
5. Herbert, William 1844. Edwards's Botanical Register 30: 30–31 description in Latin, commentary in English.
6. Davis, P.H. (ed.) (1984). Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands 8: 1-632. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
7. Rechinger, K.H., Browicz, K., Persson, K. & Wendelbo, P. (1990). Flora Iranica 165: 1-194. Naturhistorisches Museums Wien.
8. Everett, D. (2013). The genus Tulipa Tulips of the world: 1-380. Kew publishing, Kew.
9. Christenhusz, Maarten J.M.; Govaerts, Rafaël; David, John C.; Hall, Tony; Borland, Katherine; Roberts, Penelope S.; Tuomisto, Anne; Buerki, Sven; Chase, Mark W.; Fay, Michael F. (2013). "Tiptoe through the tulips – cultural history, molecular phylogenetics and classification of Tulipa (Liliaceae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 172 (3): 280–328. doi: 10.1111/boj.12061 .
10. Eker, I., Babaç, M.T. & Koyuncu, M. (2014). Revision of the genus Tulipa L. (Liliaceae) in Turkey. Phytotaxa 157: 1-112.
11. "Tulipa humilis var. aucheriana (Baker) Christenh". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 9 September 2025.
12. "Tulipa humilis var. humilis". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 9 September 2025.
13. "Tulipa humilis var. kurdica (Wendelbo) Christenh". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 9 September 2025.
14. "Tulipa humilis var. pulchella (Fenzl ex Regel) Christenh". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 9 September 2025.
15. "Tulipa humilis var. violacea (Boiss. & Buhse) Christenh". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 9 September 2025.
16. "Tulipa aucheriana". www.rhs.org. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 5 March 2021.

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