Tulipa goulimyi Sealy & Turrill
Goulimi's tulip
This magnificent tulip was discovered by lawyer and amateur botanist Constantine Goulimis in April 1954. J. Robert Sealy and William Turill, botanists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, formally described the plant in 1955 from material collected on Kythira. It is strictly endemic to our region, with the main populations found on the island of Kythira.
Subsequently, several botanists took an interest in and studied the plant, recording various locations where it appeared on Kythira. (Giannitsaros 1978, 1998, Iatrou 1986, Athanasiou 1988, Briggs 1990, Tzannoudakis 1991). It differs from its close relative, Orphanides' tulip, mainly in that its bulb is surrounded by a dense fluffy mantle (it resembles a chestnut, hence its name). It is considered very rare and has been found outside Kythira only in a few areas of the southern Peloponnese, where it is now tending to disappear due to overharvesting, fires, and habitat degradation, and in western Crete.
If you like it, don't cut it! Take a photo of it so you can keep it longer!
