Tulipa agenensis

(first posted March 21, 2007)

Though the Dutch have brought fame to this flower of stately and enigmatic beauty, the tulip is native to the Middle East, not Holland, and takes its name from the Turkish word for turban, an allusion to the tulip’s turban shaped bloom.

Wildflower spotting: Gilead (Jil'ad)

Tulipa agenensis, the most common of Jordan’s three species of indigenous tulips (though not too common—I’ve only seen a handful) blooms in early spring and hails from Jordan’s northern mountains and forests.

Family~ Liliaceae
Tulipa agenensis