All modern species diversity of tulips is the result of the work of breeders who over the years have created new unique colors and shapes from several original species. One of the ancestors of all varieties is just the Schrenk tulip.
Legend of the Tulip
True or not, but once upon a time people thought that happiness was concentrated in the very center of a beautiful yellow tulip. The only problem was that the bud could not be opened. And then one day an amazing flower fell into the hands of a little boy, the tulip opened, revealing beauty to the world. Only a person with a pure heart and soul, like a baby, is able to find happiness.
Who is the tulip named after?
It owes its name to the scientist and traveler Alexander Ivanovich Shrenk. Or, as some sources call him, Alexander Gustav von Schrenck. He was of Russian origin (he was from the Tula province), and yet he is very often perceived as a German scientist. Traveling, hecollected a lot of materials on zoology, botany and mineralogy. Including in 1873 he discovered a new plant - a fragile and bright tulip, which later received his name. Later, for many years he worked as a teacher at the University of Drepta (now Tartu, Estonia).
Schrenk Tulip: description
Wild varieties of tulips are medium in size. But the Schrenk tulip boasts distinctive large features. It has a very miniature egg-shaped bulb, 1.5-2 cm in diameter. But the plant itself grows up to 30-40 centimeters in height. It has green leaves with a blue tint, lanceolate, slightly wavy, usually 3 or 4, the lower one is always larger than the others.
The flower has a rather variable shape, most often a cupped bottom and six petals, pointed at the end, like a lily. Unlike artificially bred varieties, it has a light and pleasant aroma. The size of the flower is 7 centimeters in height. The color can be different: red, orange, yellow, snow-white and even almost purple, there are also variegated forms. Schrenk's tulip is a mid-blooming tulip that blooms from late April through May. Propagated in nature by seeds that ripen in sufficient quantities in June.
Growing places
In Russia, this type of wild tulip grows in the steppes, semi-deserts and deserts of the European part of the country, as well as in Central Asia and Western Siberia. This plant is a calcephilus, if translated literally - lovinglime. Flowers grow in soils rich in various calcium compounds. Scarce in vegetation in summer, in spring the steppes are covered with a real bright carpet, akin to Persian, full of bright colors and delicate aromas.
Outside of our country, the Schrenk tulip is distributed in the southeastern part of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Northern Iran, Central Asia and China.
Schrenk tulips in the Orenburg region
To meet the Schrenk tulip in the Orenburg region is a common thing. Combining parts of the European Plain, the south of the Urals and the Trans-Urals, the vast territory is rich in steppes, where this species grows. Tulip Schrenk is a flowering symbol of the Orenburg region. It is impossible to compare the dense spring aroma that fills the steppe air when entire hectares are blooming with anything. The Red Book of the region also puts it under protection. But they love and appreciate the tulip not only there.
In the Volgograd region in 2009, a natural monument of regional significance was established - the Kurnaevsky tulip meadow. It is located on a very vast area of 418 hectares. Its special value is due to the fact that rare and rare plants grow there, including the Schrenk tulip. The authorities of the region limit the anthropogenic influence of the external environment on this territory as much as possible in order to preserve the biosystem in its original form.
Bieberstein Tulips
This is another type of wild tulip,which was discovered by the German botanist Friedrich Bieberstein and named after him. In flower shape and other external phenotypic features, they are very similar to the Schrenk variety. But there are two significant differences. Firstly, Bieberstein tulips are always bright yellow and nothing else, while their closest relatives are full of colors like a kaleidoscope. In addition, the flowers are slightly smaller, on average up to 3 centimeters long. Secondly, they reproduce well not only by seeds, but also by daughter bulbs, which allows them to quickly reproduce their numbers. In Russia, they can be found in the Volga region, the Caucasus, Kalmykia, Western Siberia. But in the Rostov region they are listed in the regional Red Book.
Can this tulip be planted at home?
You can't legally plant a Schrenk tulip in your garden. The Red Book of Russia classifies it as a rare and endangered plant species, the population of which in the wild is sharply declining. Bulbs of this species are forbidden to be dug up and sold, in addition, flowers cannot be plucked, as this is directly related to the extinction of the plant (the seeds do not ripen). Violations are subject to liability and pen alties. When buying such bulbs from dishonest sellers, keep this in mind and that it is better to keep these flowers in the wild and let them be enjoyed not only by us, but also by our descendants.
The conservation of the Schrenk tulip in Ukraine and Kazakhstan is also taken under state control, it is listed in the Red Books of these states.
