Tulips are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes. The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white.
Growing wild over much of the Near East and Central Asia, tulips were cultivated in Byzantine Constantinople as early as 1055. By the 15th century, tulips were among the most prized flowers; becoming the symbol of the later Ottomans.