Plant of the day is: Tulipa biebersteiniana

 Today's plant would be a shame for you to not actually see in flower.  No creative commons images available so click here to let me google those images for you.  Worth the click.  Do it!  Do it now!  You'll notice a few great shots just full of fields of it, similar to the environment I encountered it in.  I couldn't see the flower, but it left another of nature's great beauties, a dehisced seed pod.  Here is a nice video showing the process on an Adenium.  The photos you see here were taken at Scherbakovsky Nature Park in Russia.

Photo Credit: Derek Lyle

CC BY 3.0

Taxonomy, etc.:  Tulipa is a member of the Liliaceae family and found throughout Eurasia and North Africa.  75 species are currently accepted with my hybrids and cultivars than you could begin to shake a stick at.  It looks like the most recent classifications of the genus involve for subgenera: Clusianae, Orithyia, Tulipa, and Eriostemones.  Our friend Tulipa biebersteiniana here is a member of the Eriostemones subgenus.  Horticulturists have several other classifications for a total of 15 different groups based on flower morphology.  This is where the true prowess of horticultural selection comes into play.  Tulips cross-pollinate readily, making them a great candidate for what I consider...painting with nature.  I encourage a look at the Wiki page for a great explanation of horticultural divisions and some great examples.  There is a wealth of knowledge about the genus and I can't even really begin to scratch the surface for something like this.

Description/range: Monocot, reaching a height of 20 to 40 centimetres.  Leaves a mid-green, lanceolate with entire margins and alternate.  Produces yellow flowers from April to May and produce loculicidal capsules.  I've mentioned different methods of dehiscence before.  In the photos below you can see an example of loculicidal dehiscense with the pod splitting from the top (rather than the bottom which is septicidal).  Stems are glabrous.  Tepals are yellow with a green blotch near the base (at least for the actual petals, can't the lower sepals).  Found in central regions of Russia, Crimea, western Siberia, Balkan Pininsula and Anatolia.  Thrives in steppes, semideserts and other dry places (but can still handle cold).  For a bit more detail in description/distrubution check the eFloras info.

Photo Credit: Derek Lyle

CC BY 3.0

Cultivation:  I should think this plant would do well here IF given an extremely well drained soil.  They are, of course, geophytes that spend part of their life cycle completely underground protected from the elements.  The drier the summer the better, but any given year, who knows around the Midwest.  Freely produces daughter bulbs so if you get a few happy years you might be able to do some divisions and set up a few climate spots as insurance.  

Propagation:  From seed or bulb divisions.  Unlike lily bulbs, tulips don't have scales so they can't be chipped.  Many growers from seed mention sowing outdoors in the fall in a coldframe.  Seed has a physiological dormancy and I suspect a morphophysiological dormancy (needs a period of warming to fully develop the embryo).  If you want a quick look into the madness of seed dormancy click here.  It's madness.  So if you DO get your seed to germinate, wait till it begins to wither in the later spring/summer heat and then cut off just about all water and let it dry out.  You can keep growing in a pot for a few years like this OR plant out when it is young in the fall.  Either way, be prepared to wait 5 to 10 years for a flower.  Yeah, kinda rough.

Photo Credit: Derek Lyle

CC BY 3.0

Etc.:  Described by Josef and Julius Shultes in 1829.  Appearing in Carl Linnaeus's Systema Vegetabilium.  I was recently reminded of the Biodiversity Heritage Library, an online database of many an old or interesting book that has been scanned.  It is a great resource and a great look back through time.  Some books have absolutely stunning prints worth exploring.