Nature Study Lesson #151: The Tulip

"The tulips blossom early because they have food stored in the bulbs the year before, ready to use in the spring." -Handbook of Nature Study

Because we studied Holland this week as well as tulips, I gave them a little history of the

development of the cultivation of tulips. According to The Handbook of Nature Study the tulip made its way into Europe from the Orient in the sixteenth century. In Persia you could find the tulip's form used by the famous Persian weavers. 

 

"A hundred years later, the Netherlands is possessed with  tulip mania."

My husband bought us a tulip to plant in the front yard and when he brought it home, the buds were all closed and all you could see was the green sepal which closed the bud tightly. As it began to bloom, you could see the sepals joining the petals inside in their pink color and release its grip, letting the petals inside unfold. 

We spread the petals open farther to look at the flower's stamens and stigma. We compared the stem and leaves of the daffodil and the tulip and my fourth student noticed how the leaves cover the stem completely at the bottom of the stem. My first student noticed how much more broad the leaves of the tulip are compared to the daffodil.