Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Tulipa gesneriana

Common name:	Tulip	Family:	Liliaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	50, 200
Synonyms:	Tulipa suaveolens (Hayek. non Roth.), Tulipa didieri (Jordan.)
Known Hazards:	The bulb and the flowers have been known to cause dermatitis in sensitive people, though up to 5 bulbs a day can be eaten without ill-effect[65].
Range:	The origin of this plant is obscure, though it is naturalized in S.W. Europe.
Habitat:	In and around cultivated land[50].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	T. gesnerana[L] T. marjolettii[G] T. schrenkii[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Didier's Tulip [P,B], Tulip [L],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Lily family

Physical Characteristics

Bulb growing to 0.5m. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from April to May. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Root.

Bulb - cooked[22, 61]. It can be dried and ground into a powder and then mixed with cereals when making bread etc[46, 105]. Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Pollution.

Plants have been grown indoors in pots in order to help remove toxins from the atmosphere. It has been shown to help remove formaldehyde, xylene and ammonia[259].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a sunny position in a well-drained sandy soil with added leafmould[1].
The bulbs are very hardy, surviving soil temperatures down to about -12° c[214].
This is a complicated species, or perhaps a group of very closely related species, some members of which are probably native to Europe[50]. It is a parent of the cultivated garden tulips[50].
The flowers are sweetly scented[245].
Bulbs can be harvested in June after they have died down and then stored in a cool dry place, being planted out again in October[1].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a shady part of the cold frame as soon as it is ripe in early summer[1], or in the early autumn[200]. A spring sowing of stored seed in the greenhouse also succeeds[K]. Sow the seed thinly so that the seedlings can be grown on without disturbance for their first growing season - apply liquid feeds to the pot if necessary. Divide the bulbs once the plants have become dormant, putting 3 - 4 bulbs in each pot. Grow the on in the greenhouse for at least the next year, planting them out when dormant.
Division of offsets in July. Larger bulbs can be planted out straight into their permanent positions, or can be stored in a cool place and then be planted out in late autumn. It is best to pot up smaller bulbs and grow them on in a cold frame for a year before planting them out when they are dormant in late summer to the middle of autumn.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are sweetly scented[245].

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Tulipa didieri (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for Tulipa gesnerana (a possible synonym).

References for Tulipa suaveolens (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for the family Liliaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[22] Sholto-Douglas. J. Alternative Foods.
Not very comprehensive, it seems more or less like a copy of earlier writings with little added.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[214] Matthews. V. The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994. Royal Horticultural Society 1994 ISBN 1352-4186
A quarterly magazine, it has articles on Himalayacalamus hookerianus, hardy Euphorbias and an excellent article on Hippophae spp.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[259] Wolverton. B. C. Eco-Friendly House Plants. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. London. 1996 ISBN 0-297-83484-3
Excellent guide to pollution in the home and those plants that can help to remove the problem. Most of the plants are not hardy outdoors in the temperate zone, though a number of species can be grown outside.

Readers Comments

Main Search Page Help Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Tulipa+gesneriana
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Tulipa+gesneriana

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Pathways Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Privacy Policy :: Philosophy :: The Witchs Haven

We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.