Anatomical and micromorphological characteristics of tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.) tepals were studied on four cultivars with different colors of flowers ('Apeldoorn's Elite', 'Atlantis', 'Groenland' and 'Queen of the Night'). Anatomical characteristics of tepals were very similar in all investigated cultivars. Also, the anatomical features of inner tepals did not significantly differ from those in outer tepals. Epidermal cells were elongated in the direction of the longer axis of tepals and their outer walls were flat. Side and inner cell walls had also been mostly flat, except in the periphery of the tepals in which series of protrusions were visible in three cultivars ('Apeldoorn's Elite', 'Atlantis', 'Queen of the Night'). All cultivars showed clearly visible cuticle striations which mostly spread in the direction of the longer axis of the cells, though in some cases they were perpendicular. Although the striations were more or less straight or wavy, iridescence was visible only in the abaxial side of tepals in cultivar 'Queen of the Night'. Mesophyll cells were also elongated in the direction of the longer axis of the tepals and densely packed, except in peripheral region of tepals, where mesophyll cells were more loosely arranged. Tepals were colored by three groups of pigments: anthocyanins, carotenoids and, in cultivar 'Groenland', chlorophylls. Anthocyanins were present only in the vacuoles of epidermal cells. Carotenoids, deposited in chromoplasts, were mostly found in epidermal cells, in which they were present alone or in combination with anthocyanins. Chromoplasts were also found in subepidermis and became more rare towards the central part of mesophyll. Possible effects of morphological characteristics of epidermal cells and cuticle striations on tepal color and texture are discussed.