crispa or crisper?

we had a dinner guest on saturday, who arrived with a sweet spring bouquet for us. in it were these two fringed tulips. i have never seen fringed tulips. i was captivated and thought to myself that we are probably going to see lots and lots more of these crazy floral mutations now that we can so easily tinker with dna. i had just assumed that this was a brand new variant. but, as i was preparing to make this post, i googled fringed tulips only to find out that fringed tulips have been around for a while. from google:

“In horticulture, tulips are divided into fifteen groups (Divisions) mostly based on flower morphology and plant size.

Div. 7: Fringed (Crispa) – cup or goblet-shaped blossoms edged with spiked or crystal-like fringes, sometimes called “tulips for touch” because of the temptation to “test” the fringes to see if they are real or made of glass. Perennials with a tendency to naturalize in woodland areas, growing 45–65 cm tall and blooming in late season.”

there is nothing new under the sun, nor even in naturalized woodland areas.

pink fringed tulips