Crocus

Botanical species

(in outline)

The classification suggested in 1983 by Brian Mathew is certainly not ideal, but with the advantage of being based on characteristics easy to recognize. The few species discovered in the interval were integrated later on in this classification.

Kind Crocus

Sub-genus Crocus
1. Section Crocus : Presence of a basal spathe
  1. Series Crocus : autumnal flowering, white flowers with anthères and style with three branches
    1. Crocus asumaniae
    2. Crocus cartwrightianus Herb.
    3. Crocus hadriaticus Herb.
    4. Crocus moabiticus
    5. Crocus oreocreticus
    6. Crocus mathewii H. Kemdorff & E. Pasche
    7. Crocus pallasii Goldb.
    8. Crocus thomasii
  2. Series Kotschyani : autumnal flowering, white flowers with anthères and style usually with three branches
    1. Crocus autranii
    2. Crocus gilanicus
    3. Crocus karduchorum Kotschy ex Maw
    4. Crocus kotschyanus K. Koch
    5. Crocus ochroleucus Wood. & Gaill.
    6. Crocus scharojanii Ruprecht
    7. Crocus vallicola Herb.
  3. Series Longiflori : autumnal flowering, yellow flowers with anthères and style very divided
    1. Crocus goulimyi Turrill
    2. Crocus ligusticus M.G. Mariotti
    3. Crocus longiflorus Raf.
    4. Crocus niveus Bowles
    5. Crocus nudiflorus Smith.
    6. Crocus serotinus Salisb.
  4. Series Scardici : spring flowering, sheets with pale line of centers or go away
    1. Crocus scardicus Kos.
    2. Varnished Crocus pelistericus
  5. Series : corme with tunics with réticulées fibers, spring flowering, flowers often distinctly striated, bractées absent
    1. Crocus baytopiorum Mathew
    2. Crocus etruscus Parl.
    3. Crocus kosaninii
    4. Crocus tommasinianus Herb.
    5. Crocus vernus (L.) Vareigated Hill
  6. Series : corme with tunics with parallel fibers, spring flowering, distinctly striated flowers
    1. Crocus cambessedesii
    2. Crocus corsicus Vanucchi ex Maw
    3. Crocus imperati Ten.
    4. Crocus malyi Screw.
    5. Crocus minimus cd.
    6. Crocus versicolor Ker Gawl.
2. Section Nudiscapus : Basal absence of spathe
  1. Series Aleppici : corme with membranous tunics with parallel fibers, sheets appearing with the flowers, autumnal or winter flowering
    1. Crocus aleppicus
    2. Crocus boulosii
    3. Crocus veneris
  2. Series Biflori : corme with cancelled tunics and coriaces, winter or spring flowering, style with three branches
    1. Crocus adanensis
    2. Crocus aerius Herb.
    3. Crocus almehensis
    4. Crocus biflorus Millet.
    5. Crocus caspius Fischer & Meyer
    6. Crocus chrysanthus Herb.,
    7. Crocus cyprius Wood. & Kotschy,
    8. Crocus danfordiae Maw,
    9. Crocus hartmannianus Holmboe,
    10. Crocus kerndorffiorum
    11. Crocus leichtlinii
    12. Crocus paschei
    13. Crocus pestalozzae Wood.
    14. Crocus wattiorum
  3. Series Carpetani : canaliculées sheets, spring flowering, style blanchâtre slightly divided
    1. Crocus carpetanus Wood. &Reut.
    2. Crocus nevadensis Amo.
  4. Series Flavi : corme with membranous tunics with parallel fibers, spring flowering, style very divided
    1. Crocus antalayensis Mathew
    2. Crocus candidus E.D. Clarke
    3. Crocus flavus Weston
    4. Crocus graveolens Wood. &Reut.
    5. Crocus hyemalis Wood.
    6. Gay Crocus olivieri J.
    7. Crocus vitellinus Wahl.
  5. Series Intertexti : corme with tunics with intricate fibers, spring flowering
    1. Gay Crocus fleischeri .
  6. Series Laevigati : corme with membranous tunics, parallel fibers or coriaces, sheets appearing with the flowers, autumnal flowering, anthères white, style strongly divided
    1. Gay Crocus boryi
    2. Crocus laevigatus Bory & Chaub.
    3. Gay Crocus tournefortii .
  7. Series Eastern : corme with tunics with fibers parallel or slightly réticulées, many sheets, spring flowering, style with three branches
    1. Crocus alatavicus Semenova & reg.
    2. Crocus korolkowii Regelation ex Maw
    3. Crocus michelsonii B. Fedtsch.
  8. Series Reticulati : corme with tunics with réticulées fibers, autumnal or spring flowering, style with three branches or very divided
    1. Crocus abantensis
    2. Crocus ancyrensis (Herb.) Maw
    3. Crocus angustifolius Weston
    4. Crocus cancellatus Herb.,
    5. Crocus cvijicii
    6. Crocus dalmaticus Screw.
    7. Crocus gargaricus Herb.
    8. Crocus hermoneus
    9. Crocus reticulatus Steven ex Adams
    10. Crocus robertianus C.D. Brickell
    11. Crocus rujanensis
    12. Gay Crocus sieberi J.
    13. Crocus sieheanus
    14. Crocus veluchensis Herb.
  9. Series Speciosi : corme with cancelled and membranous tunics or coriaces, sheets appearing after the flowers, autumnal flowering, style strongly divided
    1. Crocus pulchellus Herb.
    2. Crocus speciosus Mr. Bieb.
Sub-genus Crociris
1. Crocus banaticus Heuff.

Some rustic species with winter and spring flowering

Crocus ancyrensis (Herb.) Maw “Bunch Golden delicious” and Crocus gargaricus Herb. - two Turkey species - are with yellow flowers. Crocus ancyrensis flowers as of at the end of January with Crocus tommasinianus .
Crocus angustifolius Weston (Syn. Crocus susianus ) of the Crimea has yellow flowers with brown narrow tepals outside.
Crocus chrysanthus Herb. of Balkans and minor Asia outside has yellow flowers with tepals striated with brown. The species is seldom cultivated. It is especially present in the form of various varieties and of crossings with Crocus aerius Herb. and Crocus biflorus Millet.
Crocus corsicus Vanucchi ex Maw of Corsica flowers in April with mauve flowers striated with purple.
Crocus etruscus Parl. “Zwanenburg” of the center of Italy, has flowers lilac.
Crocus flavus Weston is originating in Balkans and minor Asia. It is starting from this species that the crocuses of Holland with yellow flower were selected.
Gay Crocus fleischeri J. of Turkey has spangled white flowers with throat violet.
Crocus korolkowii Regel ex Maw of Central Asia has yellow flowers striated with brown.
Crocus minimus cd. from Corsica and Sardinia is a miniature species with flowers violets, whose external face is chamois striated with purple. Crocus imperati Ten., an early species of the south of Italy is similar, but with larger flowers. * Gay Crocus sieberi J. of Greece. Its selections have white, pink flowers or violets. “Tricolor” has flowers violets with a yellow throat surrounded by broad band white.
Crocus tommasinianus Herb. of Balkans with small mauve flowers; named according to the knight of Tommasini, a civil servant of state which studied at the 19th century the flora of Dalmatie. Crocus tommasinianus is resown abundantly and is naturalized easily (It is a stinsenplant ). There exist selections of colors going of the white to the crimson.
Crocus vernus (L.) Hill is indigenous in the mountains of Europe. In Western and central Europe (the Alps, the Pyrenees) one meets the subspecies albiflorus with small white flower with purple tube, in Central and southernmost Europe (Carpates, South of Italy and Balkans) the subspecies vernus (Syn. Crocus heuffelianus , Crocus napolitanus ) with larger flower violet. It is starting from the latter that the crocuses of Holland with flowers white, violets and striated (“Pickwick”) were selected.
Crocus versicolor Ker Gawl. south-west of the Alps has white flowers with mauves. The selection `Picturatus' is with white flowers striated with purple.

Some rustic species with autumnal flowering

The early species have like colchic autumn of the naked flowers; sheets appearing at the beginning of the winter. The later species flower among the young sheets.

Crocus cancellatus Herb., with corme réticulé, is if not similar to Crocus speciosus . The cormes are sold under the name of Hursinein like vegetable root on the markets of minor Asia, in particular in Syria.
Crocus cartwrightianus Herb. south of Greece - the supposed ancestor of Crocus sativus - whose selection “Albus” is especially cultivated, is more floriferous than Crocus sativus .
Crocus goulimyi Turrill of the south of Greece with small flowers lilac with long tube flowers in October - November. It is certainly not the most beautiful crocus of autumn, but it is gratifiant by its long period of flowering.
Crocus kotschyanus K. Koch (Syn. Crocus zonatus ) with flowers clear mallow with yellow throat - a species with naked flower of minor Asia - flowers as of at the end of September and is naturalized easily. The variety leucopharynx , with white throat, is often confused with Crocus karduchorum Kotschy ex Maw, an endemic species of Turkestan, which is characterized by its finely divided white marks.
Crocus laevigatus Bory & Chaub. south of Greece flowers of at the end of November at the beginning of January. The selection “Fontenayi”, with flowers pale lilac with external face striated with purple. It sometimes is called “Crocus of Christmas”.
Crocus ligusticus M.G. Mariotti (Syn. Crocus middle finger ) of the Alps Maritime and Crocus niveus Bowles, a more delicate species of the south of Greece, with flowers respectively violets and white with red marks, flower in October.
Crocus longiflorus Raf., the odorous crocus, of the south of Italy and Malta, has flowers lilac with orange throat and red styles.
Crocus ochroleucus Wood. & Gaill., of minor Asia with small white flowers is a late species (November) very floriferous.
Crocus speciosus Mr. Bieb. of the Crimea and minor Asia, with naked flower, purplished with finely divided yellow marks, flowers as of at the end of September. There are selections with white, blue flowers and violets. “Oxonian” has a large flower purple dark. Crocus pulchellus Herb. of Balkans and minor Asia, resembles the precedent, in slimmer; the variety “Zephyr” white is beaded.

the saffron

Crocus sativus L., the saffron has a large mauve flower. The saffron, which needs heat for flowering well, is triploid sterile resulting probably from Crocus cartwrightianus .

A remarkable crocus

Crocus mathewii H. Kemdorff & E. Pasche, a species found in 1994 in the Taurus mounts of the south of the Turkey. This species with autumnal flowering, named according to the guru of the crocuses Brian Mathew , is remarkable by its white corolla with blue throat. This rare species perhaps disappeared meanwhile in a wild state, following an exaggerated harvest.

The crociris

Crocus banaticus Heuff., the “Crociris” of Eastern Europe is a case with share. The narrow internal tepals are drawn up, the external broad ones and are reversed; what makes it resemble an iris.

Culture

In the moderated countries, it is perfectly possible to have crocuses in flower in a garden in a quasi uninterrupted way from September to April. The botanical species and their cultivars are proposed by specialized producers.

The cormes of the crocuses must be planted in a quite permeable ground in sunny situation; crocuses of autumn as of at the end of July, those with winter and spring flowering as of September. Their worst enemies are the mulots and the field voles which are fond of delicacies.

External bonds

Crocus ''' Pages (in) '''
Crocus mathewii

Sources

Paul Schauenberg, bulbous plants , Belachaux & Nestlié, 1964
Brian Mathew, Crocus: With Revision off the Genus Crocus , Timber Near, 1983. ISBN 0-917304-23-3
John E Bryan, Bulbs (revised edition), Timber near, 2002 - ISBN 0881925292
Réginald Hulhoven, rustic bulbs with autumnal flowering , Gardens of Eden, 15:88 - 95, 2002

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