Tulips carry a very storied past. They have the ability to capture hearts (and break them), make fortunes (and lose them), inspire poetry and art and influence culture.
The tulip originated centuries ago in Persia and Turkey, where 80 or so wild varieties were grown in very arid regions.
The tulip in Iran (Persia) represents paradise on earth and of having divine status. Europeans gave tulips their name, mistakenly, derived from the Persian word for “turban”.
As Europeans began taking to tulips, the flower’s popularity spread quickly, particularly in the Netherlands where a phenomenon dubbed tulip mania set in at one point during the 17th century. The Dutch use a tulip to represent a human’s brief time on earth.
Tulips became so highly-prized in the 1600’s that prices were sent soaring and markets crashing. Tulips are now grown throughout the world, but people still identify cultivated varieties as “Dutch tulips.”