The Tulip were originally a wild flower growing in the Central Asia and were first cultivated by the Turks as early as 1,000 AD. The flower were introduced in the westen Europe and the Netherlands in the 17th century by Carolus Clusius, a famous biologist from Vienna. In the 1590’s he became the director of the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden, the oldest botanical garden of Europe, founded in 1587. He was hired by the University of Leidento research medicinal plants and while doing so he got some bulbs from Turkey from his friend Ogier Ghiselain de Busbecq, the ambassador of Constantinople (presen-day Istanbul). He had seen the beautiful flower, called tulip after the Turkish word for turban, grow in the palace gardens and sent a few to Clusius for his garden in Leiden. He planted them and this was the start of the amazing bulb fields we can see today.
In the beginning of the 17th century the tulip were staring to be used as a garden decoration beside the former medicinal purposes. It soon gained major popularity as a trading product, especially in Holland. The interest for the flower were hugh and bulbs were sold for unbelievable high prices. Botanists staretd to hibridize the flower and they soon found ways of making it even more decorative and tempting specimens. Hybrids and mutations of the flower were seen as rarities and a sign of high status. In the months of late 1636 to early 1637 there was a complete “Tulipmania” in the Netherlands. Some examples could cost more than an Amsterdam house at this time. Even the ordinary man took part in the business. They saw how much money the upper class got in the commodity and thought that this was an easy way of getting lots of money at no risk. The bulbs was usually sold by weight while they were still in the groud. The trade with the un-sprouted flower came to be called “wind trade”.
The traders made huge amounts of money every month, and people started to sell their businesses, family homes, farm animals, furnishings and dowries to participate. The government could not do anything to stop it, the trade was all about access and demand. But finally the tulip did not appear to be quite so rare to justify such high prices. Over-supply led to lower prices and dealers went bankrupt and many people lost their savnings because of the trade. This “Tulip Crash” made the government introduce special trading restrictions for the flower. It is said that the flower became so popular because of the bright colours, dramatic flames and frilly petals. To have tulips in one’s home was a way to impress, and when the wealth spread down the social ladder, so did the urge for tulips.
In the 20th century it was discovered that the frilly petals and dramatic flames that gave the flower its stunning look, infact were the symptoms of an infection by the mosaic virus. The healthy flower were supposed to be solid, smooth and monotone. The virus came to the tulip from a louse living on peaches and potatoes. These diseased varieties are no longer sold, what you can find is hybrids that look similar but are genetically stable.
