| Colchicum ritchii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Liliales |
| Family: | Colchicaceae |
| Genus: | Colchicum |
| Species: | C. ritchii |
| Binomial name | |
| Colchicum ritchii | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Colchicum ritchii, or the Egyptian autumn crocus, is a plant species native to the southeastern Mediterranean east to the Arabian Peninsula.
Colchicum ritchii grows from a corm which is oval measuring 2-3.5 cm across, and covered with a loose brown skin. The leaves, which emerge and develop at the same time as the flowers, are largely hairless and elongate after flowering to form a cone which protects the developing fruits. The flowers which appear in December, January and February are white or pink, with plants with either colour frequently growing alongside each other. Each plant produces 2-10 flowers, which each have 6 tepals, 6 anthers and 3 styles. The inner tepals are ridged with just one, or at most very few teeth at the base, near the base of the anther. The anthers are black, but get covered by yellow pollen. The fruit is a green, irregularly shaped capsule, up to 35 mm long and 15 mm across which contains round, globular seeds. [2]
Colchicum ritchii is a plant of sand and loess soils in desert and shrub-steppes . [2]
Colchicum ritchii is found from Tunisia [3] in the west to Jordan and Saudi Arabia. [1] [4] [5]
Extracts from Colchicum ritchii are used in traditional medicine to treat arthritis, rheumatism, gout and abdominal colics. [6] Bedouin children dig up the corms from the desert to sell them after drying them to herbalists in Alexandria and other Egyptian cities. [7] The anti-inflammatory drug colchicine was originally extracted from closely related species to this plant in ancient Egypt. [8]
Colchicum ritchii was named by Robert Brown after Joseph Ritchie who he said was the first to observe the plant near Tripoli. [9]
Crocus 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 North Africa and the Middle East, central and southern Europe, in particular Krokos, Greece, on the islands of the Aegean, and across Central Asia to Xinjiang Province in western China.
Colchicum is a genus of perennial flowering plants containing around 160 species which grow from bulb-like corms. It is a member of the botanical family Colchicaceae, and is native to West Asia, Europe, parts of the Mediterranean coast, down the East African coast to South Africa and the Western Cape. In this genus, the ovary of the flower is underground. As a consequence, the styles are extremely long in proportion, often more than 10 cm (4 in). All species in the genus are toxic.
Asphodelus ramosus, also known as branched asphodel, is a perennial herb in the Asparagales order. Similar in appearance to Asphodelus albus and particularly Asphodelus cerasiferus and Asphodelus aestivus, it may be distinguished by its highly branched stem and smaller fruits. There has been a lot of confusion over the nomenclature and taxonomy of the species, owing to its similarity to Asphodelus aestivus.
Colchicine is a medication used to treat gout and Behçet's disease. In gout, it is less preferred to NSAIDs or steroids. Other uses for colchicine include the management of pericarditis and familial Mediterranean fever. Colchicine is taken by mouth.
Colchicum autumnale, commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron or naked ladies, is a toxic autumn-blooming flowering plant that resembles the true crocuses, but is a member of the plant family Colchicaceae, unlike the true crocuses which belong to the family Iridaceae. The name "naked ladies" comes from the fact that the flowers emerge from the ground long before the leaves appear. Despite the vernacular name of "meadow saffron", this plant is not the source of saffron, which is obtained from the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus – and that plant too is sometimes called "autumn crocus".
Allium ampeloprasum is a member of the onion genus Allium. The wild plant is commonly known as wild leek or broadleaf wild leek. Its native range is southern Europe to western Asia, but it is cultivated in many other places and has become naturalized in many countries.
Sandersonia is a monotypic genus of rhizomatous plant, belonging to the family Colchicaceae, the single species Sandersonia aurantiaca being native to South Africa and Eswatini (Swaziland). Common names for S. aurantiaca include Christmas bells, golden lily of the valley, Chinese lantern lily and Chinese lantern bulb. S. aurantiaca is a perennial plant of trailing growth that can reach 30 inches in height. The flowers are yellow or orange.
Forsskaolea tenacissima is a member of the non-stinging nettles genus Forsskaolea and is in the same family as the stinging kind, Urticaceae. Described as "looking like a tough character that does not want or need a caress", F. tenacissima makes its home where not many plant species survive, in stony soils, road edges, in the gravel wadi and "in the rock crevices and water-receiving depressions" above the stone pavements of the Hamadas.
Colchicum × agrippinum is a species of flowering plant in the family Colchicaceae. It is considered to be a hybrid between C. variegatum and C. autumnale, and not a true species, although this is not certain. The genus and the species are commonly called autumn crocus, naked lady or meadow saffron.
Colchicum corsicum is a species of flowering plant in the Colchicaceae family. It is native to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia in the Mediterranean.
Leopoldia is a genus of bulbous perennial plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is widespread around the Mediterranean region and neighboring lands, from the Canary Islands to Iran.
Suaeda aegyptiaca is a species of succulent plant in the family Amaranthaceae, and salt-tolerant (halophyte) plant that is distributed in eastern North Africa, the Near East and West Asia.
Gloriosa superba is a species of flowering plant in the family Colchicaceae. Common names include flame lily, climbing lily, creeping lily, glory lily, gloriosa lily, tiger claw,, agnishikha and fire lily.
Allium sinaiticum is a species of flowering plant in the Amaryllidaceae family. It is a wild onion found in sandy areas in Israel, Sinai, Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It is a small, bulb-forming perennial; flowers have white tepals with green midveins.
Colchicum variegatum, common name Κολχικό το ποικιλόμορφο or Güz Acıçiğdemi, Sürincan is a plant species native to Greece and Turkey but cultivated in many other places.
Naomi Feinbrun-Dothan was a Russian-born Israeli botanist, who became part of the academic staff at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She studied the flora of Israel and published dozens of articles and several analytical flora books. Just after her 91st birthday, she received the 1991 Israel Prize for her unique contribution to the Land of Israel studies.
Colchicum brachyphyllum grows abundantly by the melting snow of the mountains of Lebanon. The preferred name is now C. szovitsii ssp. brachyphyllum.
Colchicum stevenii, or Steven's meadow saffron, is a species of flowering plant in the family Colchicaceae. Arabic: سَراجُ الغولة, سُورَنْجان Hebrew: סתוונית היורה
Romulea tortuosa is a herbaceous perennial geophyte in the family Iridaceae native to South Africa. It has a small corm in the soil, a few prostrate coiling leaves, and fragrant, trimerous yellow flowers, sometimes with six brown blotches on the inside near the bottom of the flower.
Romulea toximontana is low a herbaceous perennial geophyte in the family Iridaceae native to South Africa. It has a small corm in the soil, several linear leaves, white trimerous flowers, yolk-yellow near the centre and with a purple wash on the outside. The 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants lists this species as rare.