Iranian Tulips | The National Flower of Iran

The Tulip genus belongs to the Liliaceae family and about have had about 100 species, 19 of which are reported from Iran and 4 of which are endemic to Iran.

Most of the tulip species are distributed in temperate and subtropical regions, mostly found in the Earth's northern hemisphere.

Iran is considered one of the main origins of Tulips. Tulip is one of the most important ornamental bulbous crops in the world. There are more than 5000 registered tulip cultivars, most of which have been mainly developed in the Netherlands and are widely used in ornamental plant markets for cut flowers, potted plants, gardening, and landscaping. Tulips are native to temperate regions, and wild populations occur naturally in Greece, the southern Balkans to Siberia, the Caucasus, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Central Asia to western China, Mongolia, and the Himalayas. The Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains and the steppes of Kazakhstan are reported as the center for tulip diversity. However, habitats of tulips extend from southern Europe to North Africa, and some wild tulips are in the United States, Britain, The Netherlands, Italy, France, Sweden, and Switzerland. Tulips from Western Europe are referred to as Neotulipae.

All About Persian Tulip Flower

Among the Islamic countries, the tulip has deeply penetrated the culture of Iran and Turkey. Moreover, from the botanical point of view, the tulip is divided into two groups, cultivated and wild. Nowadays, in the case of the production and export of tulip bulbs and flowers, the Netherlands ranks first among the countries in the world.

Furthermore, the tulip is the national flower of Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Belgium. Also, the tulips have a wide range of colors, and it can be said that the tulips can have all colors except brown. On the whole, there are 7 color groups for tulips, white, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, and green; each group, in addition to the difference in the degree of their color, they are also different in terms of coloring, such as having two colors, borders or colored lines on their petals.

It is worth mentioning that tulips can live permanently in regions with cold weather. This pretty flower survives for two months at most in the cool seasons of the year. Thus, the bulbs of this ornamental flower should be planted in autumn. It is interesting to know that despite the poisonous parts of the tulip, it was used as food during World War II.

This genus of Iranian tulip can be found on the slopes of the Zagros mountain range and in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, comprehensively, in the northeastern and western provinces of Iran. These flowers, which can attract many tourists each year, bloom in the middle of spring and can create carpets of flowers in many parts of the slopes of the Zagros mountains. Unfortunately, the life of tulips is too short, and tourists only have a few opportunities during a year to visit and see their beauty and the eye-catching scenes they create. It is worthy of note that the bulb of the Iranian tulip can bloom every year. Around the slopes of the mountains in the country of Iran, tulips have perfumed the area with their magnificent beauty. Some tulip colors are rare and exceptionally valuable and command high prices.

Tulip Festivals in Iran

Like other countries where tulips play an important role, Iran also has a tulip festival. In Iran, the Asara Tulip Festival has been held every year since 1998 in the Gachsar Tulip Garden, located at the 53rd kilometer of the Karaj-Chalus road in Garmab village. About 600 thousand tulips are displayed at this festival. This festival had about 500,000 thousand visitors in 2011. This festival which is the best place for tourists to see all species of Iranian Tulips together along with other types of tulips in a vast area, is highly recommended to visit.

The Gachsar Tulip Garden in Spring, in the month of Ordibehest of each year, hosts many visitors to enjoy the outstanding sight of blooming Iranian tulip flowers. Besides, visitors can also buy tulips, flowers, and bulbs there if they want these magnificent flowers in their homes. It is noteworthy that Kondor, located near Tehran and on the 7th kilometer of the Karaj-Chalus road, recently, among the valleys of the Alborz mountain range, has become famous for the Lazur tulips garden and festival.

Symbol of Tulip

The tulip is the national flower of Iran, along with the Water Lily. Also, the tulip is the national flower of countries such as Afghanistan, Turkey, The Netherlands, Hungary, and Belgium. In Iran, the Tulip, "Laleh" in Farsi, is one of the names of Iranian girls. As mentioned, the tulip has deeply penetrated the culture of Iran and Turkey. Despite the similarities between the cultures of these two countries and their same passion for the tulip, its appearance and influence in the art and culture of these two countries are different. In Turkey and its culture, the influence of tulips is more apparent in the artworks, whereas in Iran, tulips can be seen rarely in paintings and artworks. In Iran, the tulip has been known as the most popular wildflower and has had a wide influence and appearance in Persian culture and literature, so even the poets who lived in dry and desert regions knew this flower.

In Persian literature, the tulip flower is more a sign of the pain of love. The black circular part in the middle of the tulip's corolla is embedded as a lover's suffering heart. Nowadays, the tulip symbolizes martyrdom in Iran and is a metaphor for a person who sacrifices his life for religious or national ideals.

Inverted Tulip

The inverted Tulip or reverse Tulip is one of the unique species of tulip that grows and blooms in the central regions of Iran and, as a whole, can be found in Iran at the foot of the Zagros mountains. Due to this unique tulip, many festivals are held annually in the spring season in the areas where this tulip grows so that travelers can enjoy the inverted tulip flowers.

Finally!

The tulip is one of the most popular flowers in the world, and many species can be found in Iran, such as rare ones like Inverted Tulips. Moreover, this flower has played an important role in Persian literature and has been able to have a great influence on it. The tulip, one of Iran's national flowers, has a symbolic meaning of martyrdom for Iranians. Additionally, many festivals are held every year during the blooming season of Tulips in Iran, which is in Ordibehest Month (April to May), and the most famous one is held in Gachsar, where all varieties of Iranian Tulips are cultivated.