Tulipa orphanidea

Description

Tulipa orphanidea is a bulbous perennial reaching 10–20 cm in height. Bulbs measure 20–47 x 8–22 mm. The stem is glabrous or hairy, and the leaves which vary from 2–7 reach a size of about 20x2 cm, and are green, often with a tinge of red along their edges. The stem bears 1–4 globular to star-shaped flowers with copper-red, rarely yellow and red tepals, arranged in two whorls of three. The tepals bear a black, sometimes yellow, basal blotch interiorly. The outer tepals measure 3–6 × 1–1.8 cm and the inner tepal 3–6 × 1.2–2.1 cm. The six stamens are a dark olive colour, 7–12 mm in length. The chromosome number is 2n = 36, rarely 24 or 48.