Crocus

Crocus (plural: crocus, crocuses) is a genus of perennial flowering plants, native to a large area from coastal and subalpine areas of central and southern Europe (including the islands of the Aegean), North Africa and the Middle East, across Central Asia to western China. more...

Home
Bird & Wildlife Accessories
Children's Gardening Items
Fertilizer, Soil Amendments
Garden Décor
Garden Structures & Fencing
Gardening & Plants
Hand Tools, Gear & Equipment
Hydroponics, Seed Starting
Other Gardening & Plants
Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor Power Equipment
Pest & Weed Control
Planters, Pots, Window Boxes
Plants, Seeds, Bulbs
Aquatic Plants
Bonsai
Cactus & Succulents
Ferns
Flower Bulbs, Roots, Corms
Amaryllis
Caladium
Crocus
Daffodil
Dahlia
Gladiolus
Hyacinth
Iris
Lily
Mixed Lots
Other Bulbs, Roots, Corms
Peony
Tulip
Flower Plants, Seedlings
Flower Seeds
Groundcovers, Vines
Herbs
Houseplants
Orchids, Tropicals
Ornamental Grasses
Other
Roses
Shrubs
Trees
Vegetables & Fruits
Publications

The genus Crocus is placed botanically in the iris family (Iridaceae). The plants grow from corms and are mainly hardy perennials, and are found a wide range of habitats, including woodland, scrub and meadows.

There are about eighty species of crocus (of which approximately 30 are cultivated). Their cup-shaped, solitary, salverform flowers taper off into a narrow tube. Their color varies enormously, although lilac, mauve, yellow and white are predominant. The grass-like, ensiform leaf shows generally a white central stripe along the leaf axis. The leaf margin is entire. All crocuses typically have three stamens. The spice saffron is obtained from the stigmas of Crocus sativus, an autumn/fall-blooming species.

The name of the genus is derived from the Greek κ�όκος, krokos (attested in Homer's Iliad, Book XIV, verse 347), this in turn being a Semitic loanword (Hebrew karkom, Aramaic kurkama, Persian and Arabic kurkum, all meaning saffron or saffron yellow). In Greek, the word is also used for the similarly colored egg yolk.

Misuses of the name crocus

Though some true crocus bloom with the fall (autumn) rains, after summer's heat and drought, the name autumn crocus is often misused as a common name for Colchicum, which is in the lily family (Liliaceae), and which has six stamens; it is also (confusingly and incorrectly) known as meadow saffron. The so-called prairie crocus (formerly Anemone patens, now Pulsatilla patens or P. ludoviciana) belongs to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae).

True autumn crocuses

Most true autumn crocus flower in September to November in the northern hemisphere. Some flower before their leaves appear. Autumn/fall flowering species include: Crocus banaticus (syn. C. iridiflorus), C.cancellatus, C. goulimyi, C. hadriaticus, C. kotschyanus (syn. C. zonatus), C. laevigatus, C. medius, C. niveus, C. nudiflorus, C. ochroleucus, C. pulchellus, C. sativus (saffron crocus), C. serotinus, C. speciosus, C. tournefortii. Crocus laevigatus has a long flowering-period which starts in late autumn or early winter and may continue into February.

In cultivation

As one of the first flowers to bloom in spring, the large hybridized and selected "Dutch crocus" are popular with gardeners. However, in areas where snow and frost occasionally occur in the early spring it is not uncommon for early-flowering crocuses to suddenly wither and die from an unseasonable frost or snowfall.

Read more at Wikipedia.org