About Tulipa clusiana Redouté
Tulipa clusiana, commonly called the lady tulip, is an Asian tulip species native to Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and the western Himalayas of India. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant, and has reportedly become naturalized in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, Greece, and Turkey. Mature plants reach a height of 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm), and bloom in spring. Several cultivars of this species have earned the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. All of these awarded cultivars are relatively small, with narrow pointed tepals that are often bi-coloured. The awarded selections are: 'Cynthia', which has pink tepal outsides edged with pale yellow and pale yellow tepal insides; 'Lady Jane', which has white inner tepals and pink outer tepals bordered with white; 'Peppermintstick', which has cerise pink outer tepals with white borders and white inner tepals; 'Tinka', which has yellow inner tepals and red outer tepals bordered with yellow; and var. chrysantha, which has yellow flowers flushed red on the outside.
