Tulip World

Biologists classify tulips as part of the lily family, which also includes garlic and asparagus.

In the Netherlands, during periods when tulips require particularly active watering, the groundwater level is artificially raised.

The world stock of commercially cultivated tulips peaked in 1952, when 5,544 varieties of these plants were grown by flower growers around the world.

In the years of famine, Europeans used fresh tulip bulbs as a substitute for onions, and dried and powdered ones were added to flour.