Gallery

Tradition and beauty - early-flowering plants from bulbs in botany and arts

Europeans have always been fascinated by flower bulbs and their magnificent blooms, from tulip-obsessed Dutch medieval artists to urban gardeners of today. Flower bulbs have been cultured for centuries, and a large number of earlier species and varieties still grow today. Characterised by their remarkable beauty and special fragrance, these historical rarities are coveted plants for gardeners and collectors. Given that the inconspicuous bulbs from which the flowers spring resemble dirty-brown clumps for most of the year, it seems miraculous when such beauty later emerges. In botanical terms, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases which function as food storage organs during dormancy. A bulb's leaf bases contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. Bulbous plant species cycle through vegetative and reproductive growth stages that may have quite different shapes; the bulbs grow to flowering size during the vegetative stage and the plants flower during the reproductive stage. The transition from one stage to another is triggered by environmental conditions, such as the change from a cold winter to a warmer spring. Once the flowering period is over, the plant enters the important foliage period - during the next six weeks, the plant absorbs nutrients from the soil and energy from the sun in order to prepare for next year’s production of flowers. Bulbs dug up after the completion of the foliage period can be easily stored and will bloom again the following year. In this cluster, beautiful examples of flowers from bulbs are collected, spanning about 400 years of flower enthusiasm. These records include field drawings, paintings, copper engravings, herbarium sheets, photos and floral art.

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Rippl-Rónai Municipal Museum with County Scope - Kaposvár

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Biology Centre Linz

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Biology Centre Linz

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Rowan McOnegal

Wellcome Collection

Fernández Arias, M. I.; Devesa Alcaraz, Juan Antonio

Documentary Repository of the University of Salamanca

35199_person; 9490_person

National Gallery of Denmark

35199_person; 9490_person

National Gallery of Denmark

35199_person; 9490_person

National Gallery of Denmark

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Biology Centre Linz

Biology Centre Linz

35199_person; 9490_person

National Gallery of Denmark

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Meise Botanic Garden

Meise Botanic Garden

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Biology Centre Linz

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Natural History Museum of Denmark

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Biology Centre Linz

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Biology Centre Linz

Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Biology Centre Linz

P.Bessa illustrator

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

P.Bessa illustrator

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Natural History Museum of Denmark

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

A.J. Cavanilles illustrator

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Dr Henry Oakeley

Wellcome Collection

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Cyprus Tourism Organisation

Library of Cyprus University of Technology

Székely Ágnes; Kovács Gábor; Bagi István

Aggtelek National Park Directorate

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid

Naturalis Biodiversity Center