On today’s show we learn about the Albanian Tulip, a critically endangered flowering plant, native to southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula in Albania.
Rough Transcript
Intro 00:05
Welcome to Bad at Goodbyes.
On today’s show we consider the Albanian Tulip.
Species Information 02:05
The Albanian Tulip is a critically endangered flowering plant, native to southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula in Albania.
The Albanian Tulip is a perennial. Botanists generally categorize flowering species into two broad categories which reflect their lifecycle; annual and perennial.
So annuals complete their entire life cycle within a single growing season. So they sprout from seed, grow to reproductive maturity, flower, are pollinated, produce and release seeds, and die all within one year.
Perennials live for more than two years. Growing, flowering and reproducing in warmer months, and going more dormant in colder months, with stems, leaves and flowers withering but their root system remaining alive and preparing to send up new growth in the spring.
During cold months, perennials’ metabolic processes like respiration and photosynthesis significantly slow down to conserve energy and resources. And though the roots do continue to absorb water and essential nutrients from the soil, the plant mainly relies on stored carbohydrates, as a food source during winter, and then later as fuel for new spring growth.
Over winter the plant alters cell membrane composition and produces these like antifreeze proteins to protect cells from freezing damage. And the root cells also keep water circulating, again to prevent freezing. And though above-ground growth is paused, root systems may continue to expand, exploring the soil for nutrients and further stabilizing the plant in the soil.
So all of this is to say, that though it may not seem like it, as we look at a bare patch of dirt, a lot of complex metabolic processes are going on underground so that perennial plants survive the winter.
Okay, back to the Albanian Tulip, which, again is a perennial, in the Tulipa genus of the Lily family. Its stem grows to roughly a foot in height, with 3-5 skinny waxy greyish green leaves, and a singular, bell-shaped flower at the top. This flower blooms in two distinct possible colors: a vibrant yellow or a deep scarlet. So individuals are genetically coded at the time of fertilization to either be red or yellow, though they are still reproductively compatible.
This is called Genetic Polymorphism and is not unlike, say eye color in humans, where the inheritance of eye color is determined by the dominant and recessive genes of one’s parents.
In the case of the Albanian Tulip, scientists hypothesize that pollinator preference may be a factor here, so different pollinators may be attracted to different flower colors, leading to the genetic retention of both color forms as they have been comparably successful in terms of natural selection.
The Albanian Tulip’s flower is large, and showy with six petals and six stamens. It is wildly beautiful.
It blooms from late April to mid-May and is likely bee pollinated. Following fertilization, the Albanian Tulip develops a dry capsule fruit containing numerous seeds, the fruit dehisces (meaning bursts open) by early July. The scattered seeds are small, flat, and greenish brown, and dispersed by wind and animal.
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In the dream,
The Twin River Spirits suggest we expand the metaphor.
Spring is not just new growth, it is also a returning, a renewing, another chance, and testament to resilience.
And winter then, a tending to small secret busynesses, preparation, anticipation. To rest and make ready.
To rest and make ready,
in the dream.
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The Albanian Tulip is native to southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula in northeast Albania, near the borders of Macedonia and Kosovo, on Black Drin River in the Kukes region near the village of Surroj.
This is a mountainous region, with over a mile and half high peaks, and steep valleys carved by the Black Drin and White Drin Rivers.
The Albanian Tulip is found about halfway up, in the lower elevations of the Gjallica mountains; a region with serpentine soils, a habitat known as a serpentine barren.
Serpentine barrens are ecological communities that develop on soils derived from serpentinite rock, which is soil that is rich in heavy metals like nickel, chromium, and cobalt. Heavy metals are toxic to many plants and so serpentine barrens often have sparse vegetation, low lying plant growth, and specialized species adapted to these challenging conditions.
The landscape is very rocky, with stretches of low growing grassland meadow and patches of small shrubs and scattered trees, against a backdrop of steep slopes and limestone mountainside. And then into this severity, of course, is the delight of a field of red and yellow wild tulips.
The climate is continental, with hot, dry summers and cold winters. Summer temperatures can reach highs in the upper 80s°F, while winter temperatures can plummet into the single digits. Annual rainfall is low to moderate, averaging around 40 inches, but concentrated in the spring and fall.
The Albania Tulip shares its home with:
Downy Oak, Beech, Gray Wolf, Alyssum Murale, Golden Eagle, Balkan Lynx, Woodpecker, Serpentine Fescue, Juniper, Fire Salamander, European Hare, Roe Deer, Bosnian Pine, Egyptian Vulture, Balkan Wall Lizard, Wild Boar, Brown Bear, Grass Snake, Rock Partridge and many many more.
Historically, the Albanian Tulip population and its habitat were reduced by a major infrastructure project, the Fierza Reservoir, which dammed the Drin river, flooding a substantial area of the Tulips habitat and dividing its population across the Reservoir.
Today, the remaining population of Albanian Tulip are threatened by Industrial Mining. Open-pit chromite mining strips the serpentine barrens where the Tulip grows, leading to loss of individuals, and habitat loss and fragmentation. These mining activities also generate dust and pollution, which impact the soil and water quality, further degrading the Tulip’s habitat.
Researchers also observed some grazing pressure by sheep and goats, though overgrazing is considered a minor risk.
Human induced Climate Change is a forthcoming threat. Climate change is expected to bring shifts in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events which will impact the Albanian Tulip and its specialized habitat.
Recent conservation work includes the legal protection of the Albanian Tulip by the Albanian government. Population monitoring, seed collection, and onsite and offsite propagation programs are all in place. And then in 2023, the Albanian Tulip’s habitat near Surroj was named a National Monument, granting it and importantly its specialized habitat, further protection.
Nevertheless the Albanian Tulip has been considered critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2018 and their population is currently in decline.
Recent counts estimate that less than 260 Albanian Tulip remain in the wild.
Citations 25:02
Information for today’s show about the Albanian Tulip was compiled from:
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund – https://www.cepf.net/grants/grantee-projects/conservation-and-propagation-albanian-tulip-albania
IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/13142545/18614500
Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants v. 24, 1117–1126 (2018). Osmani, M., Tuna, M. & Elezaj, I.R. “Concentration of some metals in soil and plant organs and their biochemical profiles in Tulipa luanica, T. kosovarica and T. albanica native plant species”. – https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298
Phytologia Balcanica v. 26, no. 3 (2020): 517-522. Shuka, Donald, Kit Tan, Besnik Hallaçi, and Lulëzim Shuka. “Additions to the flora of North Albania.” – http://www.bio.bas.bg/~phytolbalcan/PDF/26_3/contents.html
Phyton; annales rei botanicae. Vol 54. 27–46. (2014). Frajman, Božo & Pachschwöll, Clemens & Schönswetter, Peter. “Contributions to the Knowledge of the Flora of the Dinarides (Balkan Peninsula)” – http://doi.org/10.12905/0380.phyton54(1)2014-0027
Phytotaxa. Vol 10: no.28 Oct. 2010. Shuka, Lulëzim & Tan, Kit & Siljak-Yakovlev, Sonja. “Tulipa albanica (Liliaceae), a new species from northeastern Albania”. – https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.10.1.2
Thaiszia, Journal of Botany. Vol. 28 (1): 035-047. (2018). Millaku F., Elezaj I. & Berisha N. “Sympatric area and ecology of some Tulipa species in the West Balkan Peninsula” – https://www.upjs.sk/pracoviska/botanicka-zahrada/odborne-aktivity/thaiszia-2/volume-28-2018-abstracts/
Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulipa_albanica
Music 27:00
Pledge 33:06
I honor the lifeforce of the Albanian Tulip. I will commit its name to my record. I am grateful to have shared time on our planet with this being. I lament the ways in which I and my species have harmed and diminished this species. I grieve.
And so, in the name of the Albanian Tulip I pledge to reduce my consumption. And my carbon footprint. And curb my wastefulness. I pledge to acknowledge and attempt to address the costs of my actions and inactions. And I pledge to resist the harm of plant and animal kin and their habitat, by individuals, corporations, and governments.
I forever pledge my song to the witness and memory of all life, to a broad celebration of biodiversity, and to the total liberation of all beings.
