Redoubtedly Named. Lady Tulip, Tulipa clusiana, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
In his wonderful Les liliacées (1804), Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840), one-time Botanist in the service of ill-fated Marie-Antoinette and himself survivor of the terrors of the French Revolution, uses his fine description of Tulipa clusiana, Lady Tulip, for something of a methodological statement.
He writes that Carolus Linnaeus, the great reformer of Botany, was extremely careful in his descriptions of plants. Linnaeus published only the names of plants which he had himself actually seen or whose names were not at all equivocal. But, says Redouté, that wise precaution led Linnaeus to disregard a large number of plants well described by precursors such as Gessner, Clusius, Tournefort and many others. Subsequently much of that knowledge was lost. And that pertains to this particular Tulip, too.
It was well-described by Carolus Clusius (1526-1609) - thus still Redouté - under the name Tulipa persica praecox (Spring Persian Tulip) and there are several other denominations. It was known by Caspar Bauhin (1560-1624) and Tournefort (1656-1708) but after the injunctions of Linnaeus 'neglected by Botanistes'. Joyfully, Redouté notes then that it has since two years (c. 1802) again been restored to 'gardens devoted to the advancement of science' (notably his own of the Parisian Museum of Natural History and that of a friend). And now he's giving this Tulip its due name: Tulipa clusiana, after its first descriptor.
In the Amsterdam Hortus there are two 'exhibitions' of this Tulip at opposite ends of the garden, curiously with slightly different names: Tulipa clusiana Redouté and Tulipa clusiana DC each with differently formulated provenances as well. 'Tsk! Tsk!' precise Linnaeus would have muttered...
Allow me to add that it's a difficult flower to photograph well. Three of its six petals are bicolored: red on the outside, white inside; its throat is purple; the stamens dark brown-mauve; and the style green-yellow. I've added an inset so you can see the way it looks - as Redouté says - before 9 AM and after about 3 PM.
Redoubtedly Named. Lady Tulip, Tulipa clusiana, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
In his wonderful Les liliacées (1804), Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840), one-time Botanist in the service of ill-fated Marie-Antoinette and himself survivor of the terrors of the French Revolution, uses his fine description of Tulipa clusiana, Lady Tulip, for something of a methodological statement.
He writes that Carolus Linnaeus, the great reformer of Botany, was extremely careful in his descriptions of plants. Linnaeus published only the names of plants which he had himself actually seen or whose names were not at all equivocal. But, says Redouté, that wise precaution led Linnaeus to disregard a large number of plants well described by precursors such as Gessner, Clusius, Tournefort and many others. Subsequently much of that knowledge was lost. And that pertains to this particular Tulip, too.
It was well-described by Carolus Clusius (1526-1609) - thus still Redouté - under the name Tulipa persica praecox (Spring Persian Tulip) and there are several other denominations. It was known by Caspar Bauhin (1560-1624) and Tournefort (1656-1708) but after the injunctions of Linnaeus 'neglected by Botanistes'. Joyfully, Redouté notes then that it has since two years (c. 1802) again been restored to 'gardens devoted to the advancement of science' (notably his own of the Parisian Museum of Natural History and that of a friend). And now he's giving this Tulip its due name: Tulipa clusiana, after its first descriptor.
In the Amsterdam Hortus there are two 'exhibitions' of this Tulip at opposite ends of the garden, curiously with slightly different names: Tulipa clusiana Redouté and Tulipa clusiana DC each with differently formulated provenances as well. 'Tsk! Tsk!' precise Linnaeus would have muttered...
Allow me to add that it's a difficult flower to photograph well. Three of its six petals are bicolored: red on the outside, white inside; its throat is purple; the stamens dark brown-mauve; and the style green-yellow. I've added an inset so you can see the way it looks - as Redouté says - before 9 AM and after about 3 PM.