Where do tulips originate?

Tulips grow wild across a band from southern Europe to Central Asia, with the greatest diversity in mountain regions of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and neighbouring countries. The Ottoman Turks prized tulips, and the early 18th century in the empire is known as the Tulip Era. Tulip bulbs reached the Netherlands in the late 16th century, where botanist Carolus Clusius helped popularise them. During the 1630s 'tulip mania', prices for rare bulbs reached extraordinary levels before collapsing in 1637. The Netherlands is now the world's largest producer of tulip bulbs, growing billions every year.