Looking into 16th-century botanical history to understand the complex taxonomy of Tulipa sylvestris in Europe

Abstract

Tulipa sylvestris is a small yellow tulip that was introduced to northern Europe in the 16th century. Unlike the tulips that came from the Ottoman empire and gave birth to modern cultivars, T. sylvestris came from the Mediterranean and became a garden escapee that successfully naturalized across Europe. Its taxonomy is complex due to morphological diversity, polyploidy and naturalization of cultivated plants. Two subspecies are provisionally accepted in Europe: subsp. australis, a diploid native in the Mediterranean (up to Central Asia) that grows on mountainous rocky grasslands, on poor soils; and subsp. sylvestris a tetraploid that is naturalized across Europe and grows in rich soils at low altitudes, mainly at field margins, vineyards and gardens. Sometimes these two subspecies are regarded as distinct species, but their taxonomic delimitation is unclear.