During the course of our research during Colorphilia Tulip Month (February 2025), we discovered that the history of tulips likely goes back 3000 years. The ancient flower commonly translated as the "lily" in the Song of Songs and at the Sermon on the Mount should in fact be translated "tulip".

The new history of tulips includes many of the regions of modern day Italy, the Netherlands, al-Andalus, ancient Greece, ancient Israel and ancient Egypt, and of course, the entire history of Persia.

According to this new research, the tulip may have inspired more art, design, and architecture, poetry and myth, metaphor and language, than any other flower in history.

While the misidentification begins with its color, understanding the unique physical characteristics of the tulip can help explain texts that were misinterpreted for more than a millennium, and provide a new appreciate for the poetry and metaphor of the period.

While it may seem like an innocuous distinction, the corrected identification may also completely change our understanding of the history of the symbolic fleur-de-lis. It may be the origin of the Corinthian column.

A full report is forthcoming.

For all inquiries, please contact ezra@colorphilia.com