In 2005 the tulip was adopted as the official symbol of Parkinson’s at the 9th World Parkinson’s Disease Day Conference in Luxembourg. However, the tulip had been informally associated with the disease for more than 20 years prior to that.

In 1980, a Dutch horticulturalist named J.W.S. Van der Wereld – who was living with Parkinson’s – developed a new red and white variant of the tulip.

He named his newly cultivated flower the Dr. James Parkinson tulip to honor the doctor who first documented the features of Parkinson’s disease in his 1817 publication An Essay on the Shaking Palsy.

The Dr. James Parkinson tulip is officially described as  the “..exterior being a glowing cardinal red, small feathered white edge, the outer base whitish; the inside, a currant-red to a turkey-red, broad feathered white edge, anthers pale yellow.”
Wearing a red tulip shows support and raises awareness for people living with Parkinson’s, their families and caregivers.