Ornamental bulbous plant
Bulb species usually lose their upper parts during adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat or winter cold.
[5] A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem consisting of one or more internodes with at least one growing point, with protective leaves modified into skins or tunics.
Internally a corm is mostly made of starch-containing parenchyma cells above a more-or-less circular basal node that grows roots.
A below ground stem tuber is normally a short-lived storage and regenerative organ developing from a shoot that branches off a mature plant.
[7] When sold in the dry form, dahlia "bulbs" consist of a cluster of tuberous roots attached to one or more stems.
[11] The different strategies enable bulbous plants to survive adverse conditions such as extremely hot and dry summers, very cold winters, or periods of drought.
Many tulips (Tulipa species) of Asian origins, for example, have adapted to an extreme continental climate, with dry, very hot summers, very cold winters and springs with short showers.
They use their stored reserves in order to grow rapidly and complete their annual growth-cycle at the beginning of spring before the developing tree canopy blocks out the sun's light.
[1] North America is home to many such woodland bulbs, including Erythronium, Trillium and some lilies, such as Lilium pardalinum.
[16] The common bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, is native to western parts of Europe, but particularly the British Isles,[17] where it carpets the floor of some woods.
[16] Some bulbous plants grow in communities that are adapted to recurrent fires during the dry season (for example, many Iridaceae species).
The fires clean the surface vegetation, eliminating competition and also supplying nutrients to the ground from the ashes of the burnt plants.
Other areas with similar winter drought include parts of Central America, such as Mexico where the tiger flower (Tigridia pavonia) is found.
[14] Some bulbous plants were used in medicine in classical times; one example is the sea squill (Drimia maritima) which grows from a true bulb.
[22] Wall paintings dated to around 1700–1600 BC from Minoan Akrotiri provide some of the earliest evidence for the apparently ornamental use of bulbous plants.
Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, the ambassador to the sultan from Emperor Ferdinand I in Vienna, observed ornamental bulbous plants such as narcissi, hyacinths and "those which the Turks call tulipam".
[22] The botanist Carolus Clusius, who was based in Vienna from 1573 to around 1580, devoted one volume of his 1576 botanical work Rariorum Plantarum Historia to bulbs, some of which he knew from introductions via Turkey, such as tulips, Iris susiana, Galanthus elwesii and Fritillaria persica.
Through his later position as the Director of the Leiden Botanic Garden, he established the Netherlands as the centre of commercial ornamental bulb growing.
The list of the countries that have used bulbous plants as ornaments since the Christian era is long and includes Greece, Egypt, China, Korea and India among others.
The list of genera cultivated in these countries as ornamental plants is even longer: Lycoris, Lilium, Crocus, Cyclamen, Narcissus, Scilla, Gladiolus, Muscari, Ranunculus, Allium, Iris and Hyacinthus.
[citation needed] Bulb species are traditionally planted in flowerbeds (parterres) and herbaceous borders in parks and gardens.
Some species for shade are Allium ursinum, Anemone blanda, Anemone nemorosa, Arum italicum, Convallaria majalis, Corydalis flexuosa, Cyclamen purpurascens, Disporum flavescens, Erythronium, Fritillaria pallidiflora, Galanthus, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Iris douglasiana, Leucojum vernum, Lilium martagon, Ranunculus ficaria, Sanguinaria canadensis, Smilacina racemosa, Trillium and Uvularia grandiflora.
[34][35] Some of the bulbs that are suitable for naturalization in parks include: Allium, Anemone, Arum, Colchicum, Crocus, Cyclamen, Endymion, Fritillaria, Galanthus, Ipheion, Leucojum, Lilium, Muscari, Narcissus, Ornithogalum, Scilla, Sternbergia and Tulipa.
Some of the bulb genera that are most suitable for rock gardens include:[1] Allium, Anemone, Anthericum, Bulbocodium, Chionodoxa, Cyclamen, Eranthis, Erythronium, Galanthus, Ipheion, Muscari, Ornithogalum, Oxalis, Romulea, Rhodohypoxis and Scilla.
At the beginning of the rest period the bulbs can be dug out of the ground and prepared for sale as if they remain dry they do not need any nutrition for weeks or months.
[1][2] Bulbous plants are produced on an industrial scale for two main markets, cut flowers and dried bulbs.
The international trade in cut flowers has a worldwide value of approximately 11,000 million Euros, which gives an idea of the economic importance of this activity.
The Netherlands has been the leader in commercial production since the start of the 16th Century, both for the dried bulb market and for cut flowers.
