CROCUS

Updated 05-May-2020.

Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about CROCUS!

Crocus L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science: This genus is accepted, and its native range is Medit. to NW. China.

Genus Crocus: Crocus (English plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family comprising 90 species of perennials growing from corms. Many are cultivated for their flowers appearing in autumn, winter, or spring. The spice saffron is obtained from the stigmas of Crocus sativus, an autumn-blooming species. Crocuses are native to woodland, scrub, and meadows from sea level to alpine tundra in central and southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, on… (Source: Wikipedia, ”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocus, CC BY-SA 3.0 . Photo: (c) transcaucasiantrail, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC))

My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: crocus is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family . many are cultivated for their flowers appearing in autumn, winter, or spring . the spice saffron is obtained from the the word ultimately traces back to the Sanskrit kunkumam () for “saffron” the English name is a learned 16th-century adoption from the Latin, but Old English already had lilac, mauve, yellow, and white are predominant colors in 1620’s painting . the grass-like, ensiform leaf shows generally a white central stripe along the leaf margin is entire DNA data suggest no grounds for isolating C. banaticus in its own subgenus Crociris . another anomalous species, C. baytopiorum, should now be placed in series of its own C. gargaricus subsp. herbertii has been raised to species status . autumn-flowering C. longiflorus now seems to lie within series Verni . position of C. maly study shows “no support for a system of sections as currently defined” authors state “further studies are required before any firm decisions can be considered” Italian crocus (formerly in Series Longiflori) Crocus tommasinianus Herb. Crocus baytopiorum Mathew (formerly in Series Verni): corms with strongly reticulated fibers; leaves numerous, narrowly linear; spring-flowering, bracts absent; Crocus imperati subsp. suaveolens (Bertol.) b.Mathew crocus minimus DC.Series Longiflori: autumn-flower Crocus medius Balb.) niveus Bowles . clusii (J.Gay) Smith.crocus nudiflorus Smith. Crocus gilanicus B. Matthew (discovered in 1973 and named after Gilan province in Iran where it was first found) hakkariensis B.Mathew Crocus kotschyanus subsp. suworowianus (K.Koch) Crocus sativus L. – saffron crocus (a sterile triploid mutant or hybrid), presumably derived from Crocu s. hadriaticus subsp parnassicus (B.Mathew) Crocus hadriaticus subsp. parnonicus . crocus moabiticus Bornm. & Dinsmore ex Born Crocus pallasii subsp. dispathaceus (Bowles) . haussknechtii (Boiss. & Reut. B.Mathew Crocus pallasii subsp. turcicus B.Crocus thomasii Ten. (formerly in Series Versicolores) Section Nudiscapus: species without a basal prophyllSeries Reticulati: corm tunic for the most part decidedly covered with reticulated fibers, flower produced in winter or spring, style B.Mathew Crocus cancellatus subsp. mazziaricus (Herb.) Crocus herbertii B. Mathew (became a “true” species) hittiticus (T.Baytop & B.Mathew) Crocus reticulatus subsp. reticularatus Crocuses robertianus C.D. Crocus sieberi subsp. atticus (Boiss. & Orph.) nivalis (Bory & Chaub.) B.Mathew Crocu Sieberi Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis Herb.Series Biflori: tunics of corms split into rings at the base, either entire or with toothlike projections, Crocus biflorus adamii (J.Gay) K.Richt. Crocus biflorus subsp. alexandri (Nicic ex Velen.) artvinensis (J.Philippow) atrospermus Kernd. & Pasche Crocus biflorus subsp. caelestis Kernd. & . Pasche Krocus subspp. caricus Kernd . crewei (Hook.f.) B. Mathew Crocus biflorus subsp. fibroannulatus Kernd. & Pasche Crocus biflorus subsp. isauricus (Siehe ex Bowles) pseudonubigena B. Mathew Crocus biflorus subsp. pulchricolor (Herb.) punctatus B.Mathew Crocus biflorus subsp. stridii (Papan. & Zacharof) b. Mathew crocus subs yataganensis Kernd. & Pasche Crocus chrysanthus Herb. Crocus danfordiae subsp. by kurdistanicus maroofi & Assadi crocus hartmannianus . bowles Crocuses neri Crocus wattiorum (B. Mathew, 1995) B. (2000) Crocuses demirizianus Yldrm & O.Erol & L.Can xantholaimos B.MathewSeries Orientales: corm with parallel fibers or lightly reticulated, numerous leaves, spring-flowering, style three-forked Crocus al Clarke Crocus flavus Weston – Yellow crocus . sarichinarensis . endemic round zmir, west-turkey Crocus olivieri subsp. istanbulensis B. Mathew . series Aleppici: corms membranous, with split, parallel fibers, foliage produced at the same time as the flowers . they should not be confused with a different genus of autumn-flowering plants crocus flowers and leaves are protected from frost by a waxy cuticle . in areas where snow and frost occasionally occur in the early spring, it is not uncommon to see early flowering Crocuses bloom corms should be planted about 3 to 4 cm deep in gritty, well-drained soil . some crocuses, especially C. tommasinianus, seed prolifically and are ideal for naturalising the prairie crocus or pasque flower (Pulsatilla patens) belongs to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) Crocus to Brighten the Spring Garden. London, Dulau and Co., 1886 Rix, Alison.