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~No Tulips in Hawaii~ No Tulips in Hawaii
Sometimes the tulip inspired men to do great things - write poetry,
plant beautiful gardens, devote a lifetime to breeding the flower - but
it also brought out their darker side. In their quest to possess the
tulip, collectors bickered, stole, gambled and squandered fortunes, no
doubt leaving a trail of misery behind. For some, the goal was to plant
en masse, to impress people with their great wealth. For others, the
desire to possess or create a particular color or shape in the flower
was paramount, and their activities were secret: even one bulb was
enough so long as it was the only one and they owned it. Many times a
Dutch girl's dowry was a single tulip bulb. We tend to think of the
original tulips as coming from Turkey, but they were also found in
Russia, Near the Black Sea and in Crimea - areas that once belonged to
the Turkish or Ottoman Empire. The name tulip is said to have come from
the Turkish tuliban or turban - men often tucked a tulip in their
turban. |
