Mauve Tulip

There are roughly 1000 different species of tulips, and seemingly endless varieties of hybrid cultivars. They are cultivated in cooler climates, needing a cold winter season to grow successfully. It is now believed that tulips were cultivated by the Turks in areas around the Black Sea, the Crimea, and the steppes north of the Caucasus as early as 1000 AD. They did not arrive in Europe until the middle of the fifteenth century. Now readily available and inexpensive, at one time a single bulb would sell for enough money to feed and clothe a labourer and his family for six months.

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