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Perennial bulbous plants of medium size, with oblong to linear leaves. Blossoms bell-shaped or funnel, single, usually on a long stem. Perianth leaflets 6, free, after overblown fall out, all identical or internal shorter than external, without do not produce nectar, often with a spot at the base. Stamens 6, filamentary, equal to each other or interior somewhat longer, all shorter than the perianth. Anthers oblong linear, attached at its base. Ovary oblong, with many ovules in each well, with sessile stigma or shorter or longer small pillar. Box elongated, rarely rounded, opens through three longitudinal cracks. Seeds slightly flattened, often with narrow wing, a small embryo.

Economic importance. Most tulips are excellent decorative plants,  therefore widely implemented in culture, such as are created numerous varieties. Most of cultivated gardens artificial varieties are commonly grouped under the collective name T. gesneriana L. introduced in culture and a number of large-flowered species, including bulgarian representatives T. rhodopaea Vel.

1   Staminal handles naked ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
1* Staminal handles at its base fiber ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3
2  Scales of the bulb inside naked. The blossoms red, dark spot. Filaments blue-violet, yellow on top ............ 1. Rhodope tulip? - T. rhodopaea Vel.
2* Scales of the bulb inside fibrous . The blossoms yellow, rarely red, without stain. Staminal handles all yellow ………………………......................................................................................................……………….. 2. Urumov’s tulip - T. urumoffii Hayek
3  Perianth leaflets red with a dark spot at the base. Staminal handles blue ………………………… ......………. 4. Thracian tulip - T. thracica Dav
3* Perianth leaflets yellow, spotless . Staminal handles yellow ..................................................................................3. South tulip - T. australis Link
¹ developed by B. Kitanov
„Флора на  НР България”, том II, БАН, София, (1964)

The tulip is a Eurasian and North African genus of perennial, bulbous plants in the lily family.[1] It is a herbaceous herb with showy flowers, of which around 75 wild species are currently accepted.[2]
The genus's native range extends west to the Iberian Peninsula, through North Africa to Greece, the Balkans, Turkey, throughout the Levant (Syria, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Jordan) and Iran, north to Ukraine, southern Siberia and Mongolia, and east to the Northwest of China.[1][2] The tulip's centre of diversity is in the Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Tien Shan mountains.[3] It is a common element of steppe and winter-rain Mediterranean vegetation.
A number of species and many hybrid cultivars are grown in gardens or as potted plants.

Tulips are spring-blooming perennials that grow from bulbs. Depending on the species, tulip plants can be between 4 inches (10 cm) and 28 inches (71 cm) high. The tulip's large flowers usually bloom on scapes with leaves in a rosette at ground level and a single flowering stalk arising from amongst the leaves.Tulip stems have few leaves. Larger species tend to have multiple leaves. Plants typically have two to six leaves, some species up to 12. The tulip's leaf is strap-shaped, with a waxy coating, and the leaves are alternately arranged on the stem; these fleshy blades are often bluish green in color. Most tulips produce only one flower per stem, but a few species bear multiple flowers on their scapes (e.g. Tulipa turkestanica). The generally cup or star-shaped tulip flower has three petals and three sepals, which are often termed tepals because they are nearly identical. These six tepals are often marked on the interior surface near the bases with darker colorings. Tulip flowers come in a wide variety of colors, except pure blue (several tulips with "blue" in the name have a faint violet hue).[4][5]

The flowers have six distinct, basifixed stamens with filaments shorter than the tepals. Each stigma has three distinct lobes, and the ovaries are superior, with three chambers. The tulip's seed is a capsule with a leathery covering and an ellipsoid to globe shape. Each capsule contains numerous flat, disc-shaped seeds in two rows per chamber.[6] These light to dark brown seeds have very thin seed coats and endosperm that does not normally fill the entire seed.[7]
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