Tulips (Tulipa) form a genus of springblooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs).
The flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly colored, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm colors).
They often have a different colored blotch at the base of the tepals (petals and sepals, collectively), internally. Because of a degree of variability within the populations, and a long history of cultivation, classification has been complex and controversial.