SPECIES DESCRIPTION
TULIPA SAXATILIS
Including: Tulipa bakeri
Family and Genus:- See- LILIACEAE/Sect. ERIOSTEMONES
Common Names:- Rock tulip
Homotypic Synonyms:- None
Meaning:- Tulipa. Derived from the Persian word thoulyban, for a turban.
Saxatilis (L) Living in rocky places, of the rocks.
General description:- Short hairless perennial, patch-forming by means of
underground stolons.
Bulb:-
1) 20-35 x 15-30 mm, markedly stoloniferous, coriaceous, dark brown, with a few
straight hairs inside towards the apex.
Stems:-
1) 12-35 cm.
Leaves:-
1) 2-3(-4), up to 38 x 4·5 cm, oblong-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, flattish,
glarous, shiny green above.
2) Basal, broad (generally 3-4 cm), ± falcate, light to medium green, glossy.
Flowers:-
1) 1-2(-3), 35-50 mm, opening widely.
2) Perianth segments, elliptical, acute, usually pale mauve-pink with a large,
sharply delimited yellow blotch.
a) outer segments, 38-53 x 9-18 mm, elliptical to elliptic-oblong, acute to
subacute,
b) inner, 38-55 x 16-30 mm, oblong-elliptical to oblong-obovate, subacute to
obtuse, often shortly apiculate.
4) Anthers, brownish, at least 5 mm.
a) filaments, 8-17 mm; anthers 4·5-7 mm.
Fruit:-
1) Capsule, rarely formed.
Key features:-
1) Anthers, brownish, at least 5 mm.
2) Perianth-segments, more than 35 mm., lilac-pink or purple, with a yellow basal
blotch inside.
2) Leaves bright, shining green above, ± flat, the lowest one usually more than 2·5
cm wide.
Habitat:- Rocky limestone hills and flats, cliff ledges in gorges, occasionally in
fallow fields and grassy slopes. 200-800(-1200) m.
Distribution:- Endemic Crete, Karpathos, Rhodes & SW. Turkey. Limited
distribution on Crete.
Flowering time:- Late Mar to early May.
Photos by:- Steve Lenton
Status:-
Protection status (for threatened species): Greek Presidential Decree 67/1981
TULIPA BAKERI
Meaning:- Bakeri (L) Named after John Gilbert Baker (l834~1920), a British botanist and keeper of the herbarium at Kew,
Close to Tulipa saxatilis, but differing in the following characters.
1) Stem, 8-20 cm tall.
2) Leaves, medium green, less glossy.
3) Flowers, somewhat smaller, deep purplish-pink to lilac-purple.
4) Perianth segments, with a yellow basal blotch extending 1/5-1/3 of the length of
a segment and merging into an ill-defined pale ring.
5) Anthers, usually golden yellow.
Habitat:- Mountain plateaus, field margins, in scrub by sandy and gravelly stream
sides, rocky slopes, 700-1300 m.
Distribution:- Endemic; a taxon of uncertain status. In its typical form T bakeri is restricted to the Omalos plain in W Crete. Some evidence suggests that it is a stabilized hybrid of fairly recent origin between T.saxatilis and T cretica 1)
1) Atlas of the Aegean Flora by Arne Strid 2016
Flowering time:- Apri-May
Photos by:- Christopher Cheiladakis
Meaning:- Bakeri (L) Named after John Gilbert Baker (l834~1920), a British botanist and keeper of the herbarium at Kew,
Close to Tulipa saxatilis, but differing in the following characters.
1) Stem, 8-20 cm tall.
2) Leaves, medium green, less glossy.
3) Flowers, somewhat smaller, deep purplish-pink to lilac-purple.
4) Perianth segments, with a yellow basal blotch extending 1/5-1/3 of the length of
a segment and merging into an ill-defined pale ring.
5) Anthers, usually golden yellow.
Habitat:- Mountain plateaus, field margins, in scrub by sandy and gravelly stream
sides, rocky slopes, 700-1300 m.
Distribution:- Endemic; a taxon of uncertain status. In its typical form T bakeri is restricted to the Omalos plain in W Crete. Some evidence suggests that it is a stabilized hybrid of fairly recent origin between T.saxatilis and T cretica 1)
1) Atlas of the Aegean Flora by Arne Strid 2016
Flowering time:- Apri-May
Photos by:- Christopher Cheiladakis
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