The Tulip breaking virus, also known as the "Tulip break virus", "Tulip breaking potyvirus

Potyvirus

Potyviruses infect plants and belong to the family Potyviridae. The genus is named after the type virus - Potato Virus Y.The Potyvirus, like the Begomoviruses, have ~30% of the currently known plant viruses and have at least 180 definitive and possible members...

", "Lily streak virus", "Tulip mosaic virus", "Lily mottle virus", "Lily mosaic virus", or simply "TBV" is a plant virus

Plant virus

Plant viruses are viruses that affect plants. Like all other viruses, plant viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without a host. Plant viruses are pathogenic to higher plants...

 that is most famous for its infection of tulips (family Liliaceae

Liliaceae

The Liliaceae, or the lily family, is a family of monocotyledons in the order Liliales. Plants in this family have linear leaves, mostly with parallel veins but with several having net venation , and flower arranged in threes. Several have bulbs, while others have rhizomes...

). It is widely known as a former source of influence among the price

Price

-Definition:In ordinary usage, price is the quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services.In modern economies, prices are generally expressed in units of some form of currency...

 of tulip bulbs and flowers during the period of so-called "Tulip mania

Tulip mania

Tulip mania or tulipomania was a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which contract prices for bulbs of the recently introduced tulip reached extraordinarily high levels and then suddenly collapsed...

" in the 17th century Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

.. The virus causes a distinctive 'breaking' in colour of the flower petals, resulting in pale (white or yellow) and/or dark streaks flaring up the base colour. White and yellow flowered cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

s do not display this streaking, although they still can be infected. Other symptoms include leaf mottling

Mottle

Mottle or mottling is the appearance of uneven spots. It is commonly used to describe plants or the skin of animals. In plants, mottling usually consists of yellowish spots on plants, and is usually a sign of disease or malnutrition...

 (sometimes) and a reduction in vigour. The virus is transmitted by aphids.

In modern times, most tulips sold with "broken" petals are the result of breeding, not the virus.