In subsequent years I sometimes wandered to the area again at the appropriate time of year and was sad to see the place was now being tilled and there were no signs of this rare plant. I assumed it was all but extinct - or at best another population had established itself somewhere nearby.
So it was a pleasant surprise to revisit the area today and find the tulip still in place with about a dozen or so plants in flower. A wonder really that this plant survives at all in an area not larger than your average sized room - and apparently nowhere else.