Discovered by Alexander Gustav Von Schrenk in 1873, tulipa schrenkii was described eight years later by Regel. In fact, it is one of the very first one wild species to be introduced into cultivation. From that time, a lot of variants were issued from this species. Among them the most famous is 'Duc Van Tol' which is only maintained in some specialised conservatories. We must keep in mind that most of earliest horticultural tulips, included those used for forcing are also issued from Tulipa shrenkii.

If for tulips lovers this tiny tulip is mainly famous for the beauty of its red flowers lined with a yellow edge, we must go in the wild to realize how much the variability of this species is remarkable. In fact, mixed populations composed of red flowers, scarlet, yellow, orange and even white, are not unusual.

This species is widely spread from the European side of Russia to Central Asia all of the way of Crimea, Caucasus mountains and West Siberian steppes.

Plants below have been shot on May 7, 2007, near Kumilhensky, located about 230 kilometers at the North East of Volgograd (South Russia) where they are growing in open steppes, together with Tulipa sylvestris & Paeonia tenuifolia.