The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, of which ca 75 wild species are currently accepted and which belongs to the family Liliaceae.The genus's native range extends west to the Iberian Peninsula, through North Africa to Greece, the Balkans, Turkey, throughout the Levant (Syria, Israel, Palestine, Jordan) and Iran, North to the Ukraine, southern Siberia and Mongolia, and east to the Northwest of China.

Depending on the species, tulip plants can grow as short as 4 inches (10 cm) or as high as 28 inches (71 cm). The tulip's large flowers usually bloom on scapes or subscapose[ stems that lack bracts. Most tulips produce only one flower per stem, but a few species bear multiple flowers on their scapes (e.g. Tulipa turkestanica).

The showy, generally cup or star-shaped tulip flower has three petals and three sepals, which are often termed tepals because they are nearly identical. These six tepals are often marked on the interior surface near the bases with darker colorings. Tulip flowers come in a wide variety of colors, except pure blue (several tulips with "blue" in the name have a faint violet hue).[

At the base of the blossom are almond-shaped mini-leaves that can be green or splashed with the color of the blossom. These are sepals, which protect the flower when it is a bud.

Inside the flower is a small, stemlike piece, the pistol, from which pollen travels. At the base of this part is a bulbous shape, or ovary, where pollen is produced. The very top part of the pistol is called the stigma, which traps the pollen until it is ready to be released.

Inside the flower are also "stems" called stamen. The bulbous top part of the stamen is called the anther. This is the part of the flower to which bees are attracted. Pollen is gathered here.