Crocus sieberi

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Crocus sieberi
Crocus sieberi Tricolor06.jpg
Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis 'Tricolor'
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Crocus
Species:
C. sieberi
Binomial name
Crocus sieberi
Synonyms [1]
  • Crocus sibiricusBarr
  • Crocus sibthorpianusHerb.
  • Crocus sibthorpianus var. angustifoliusHerb.
  • Crocus sibthorpianus var. latifoliusHerb.
  • Crocus sibthorpianus var. stauricusHerb.
  • Crocus sieberi var. heterochromusHalácsy
  • Crocus sieberi var. sibthorpianus(Herb.) Nyman
  • Crocus sieberi var. versicolorBoiss. & Heldr.
  • Crocus sieberianusHerb.

Crocus sieberi, Sieber's crocus, [2] [3] also referred to as the Cretan crocus or snow crocus (as is Crocus chrysanthus ), is a plant of the genus Crocus in the family Iridaceae. A small, early blooming crocus, it easily naturalises, and is marked by a brilliant orange which is mostly confined to the stamens and style, fading through the bottom third of the tepal. It grows wild generally in the Balkans: Greece, especially in the island of Crete, Bulgaria, Albania and North Macedonia. There are four subtypes: sieberi (Crete), atticus (Attica area around Athens), nivalis and sublimis. Its cultivars are used as ornamental plants. Height: 3–4 inches (7.6–10.2 cm).

Contents

Subspecies

There are four subspecies of C. sieberi. [1]

Uses

Crocus sieberi is cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant for its flowers. It has also been used as food; in Greece the corms are eaten raw - with the flavor said to resemble hazelnuts. In Turkey, the leaves are eaten as greens. [1]

Cultivars

Examples:

The cultivars marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Related Research Articles

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<i>Colchicum</i> Genus of flowering plants

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<i>Dasiphora fruticosa</i> Species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae

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<i>Crocosmia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the Iris family Iridaceae

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<i>Crocus cartwrightianus</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus cartwrightianus is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, native to mainland Greece, Euboea, Crete, Skyros and some islands of the Cyclades. It is a cormous perennial growing to 5 cm (2 in). The flowers, in shades of lilac or white with purple veins and prominent red stigmas, appear with the leaves in autumn and winter.

<i>Crocus chrysanthus</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus chrysanthus, the snow crocus or golden crocus, is a species of flowering plant of the Crocus genus in the family Iridaceae. Native to the Balkans and Turkey, it bears vivid orange-yellow bowl-shaped flowers. It has smaller corms and a smaller flower than the giant Dutch crocus, although it produces more flowers per corm than the latter. Its common name, "snow crocus", derives from its exceptionally early flowering period, blooming about two weeks before the giant crocus, and often emerging through the snow in late winter or early spring. The leaves are narrow with a silver central stripe. Height: 3–4 inches (7.6–10.2 cm).

<i>Crocus flavus</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus flavus, known as yellow crocus, Dutch yellow crocus or snow crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae. It grows wild on the slopes of Greece, former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and northwestern Turkey, with fragrant bright orange-yellow flowers. It is a small crocus (5–6 cm, despite the names of some cultivars, compared to the giant Dutch crocuses. Its cultivars are used as ornamental plants.

<i>Crocus tommasinianus</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus tommasinianus, the woodland crocus, early crocus, or Tommasini's crocus, is a flower named after the botanist Muzio G. Spirito de Tommasini (1794-1879). It is native to Bulgaria, Hungary, Albania, and the former Yugoslavia. It is often referred to as the early or snow crocus, but these terms are shared with several other species, although C. tommasinianus is amongst the first to bloom. Multiple plants are often called tommies in the horticultural trade.

<i>Colchicum speciosum</i> Species of flowering plant

Colchicum speciosum is a species of flowering plant in the family Colchicaceae, native to mountainous areas of northern Turkey, the Caucasus and northern Iran. Growing to 18 cm (7 in) tall by 10 cm (4 in) wide, it is an herbaceous perennial growing from corms. C. speciosum blooms in the fall, producing reddish/violet flowers on stems up to 30 centimetres (12 in) tall without any leaves present. The strap-like leaves grow in the spring, then yellow, wither and die back as summer progresses. The flowers strongly resemble those of the crocus, the familiar spring-flowering bulb; hence the common name autumn crocus which is applied to this and other colchicum species. However the two genera belong to different families; and there is in fact an autumn-flowering crocus species, Crocus sativus, the source of the spice saffron. By contrast, all parts of Colchicum speciosum are toxic if ingested.

<i>Tecophilaea cyanocrocus</i> Species of plant

Tecophilaea cyanocrocus, the Chilean blue crocus, is a flowering perennial plant that is native to Chile, growing at 2,000 to 3,000 m elevation on dry, stony slopes in the Andes mountains. Although it had survived in cultivation due to its use as a greenhouse and landscape plant, it was believed to be extinct in the wild due to overcollecting, overgrazing, and general destruction of habitat, until it was rediscovered in 2001.

<i>Crocus biflorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus biflorus, the silvery crocus or scotch crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to south-eastern Europe and south-western Asia, including Italy, the Balkans, Ukraine, Turkey, Caucasus, Iraq, and Iran. It is a cormous perennial growing to 6 cm (2.4 in) tall and wide. It is a highly variable species, with flowers in shades of pale mauve or white, often with darker stripes on the outer tepals. The flowers appear early in spring.

<i>Crocus corsicus</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus corsicus is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae, endemic to the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia.

<i>Crocus etruscus</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus etruscus is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae, endemic to woodlands of Central Tuscany (Italy). It is a cormous perennial growing to 8 cm (3.1 in) tall. The lilac flowers with purple veining and prominent orange stigmas appear in early spring.

<i>Crocus goulimyi</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus goulimyi, the fall crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus and the family Iridaceae. It is endemic to Greece. It is a cormous perennial growing to 10 cm (3.9 in) tall. The small, rounded, lilac flowers with paler throats appear in autumn.

<i>Crocus speciosus</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus speciosus, with common name Bieberstein's crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae. The plant is native to northern and central Turkey, the Caucasus, northern Iran, Crimea and Bulgaria.

<i>Crocus nudiflorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus nudiflorus is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae. It is an autumn-flowering, dwarf, deciduous perennial found in western Europe from southwestern France to Spain. It has been cultivated since Tudor times in Great Britain, where it is now naturalized.

<i>Romulea columnae</i> Species of flowering plant

Romulea columnae, the sand crocus, is a herbaceous perennial in the family Iridaceae. It is a small plant, with thin narrow leaves, and small scape which has small pink, pale purple or violet pointed flowers with darker veining and a gold or yellow throat. It is native to a wide area ranging from western Europe to the Mediterranean.

<i>Crocus fleischeri</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus fleischeri is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae. It is a cormous perennial with a native range from the eastern Aegean Islands to western and south western Turkey.

<i>Crocus dalmaticus</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus dalmaticus is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae. It is a cormous perennial native range is from the north western Balkan Peninsula to northwestern Albania.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Crocus sieberi J.Gay | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Crocus sieberi". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  3. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. Phillips, Roger (1989). The Random House book of bulbs. Martyn Rix, Brian Mathew. New York: Random House. p. 19. ISBN   0-679-72756-6. OCLC   19922564.
  5. "RHS Plant Selector - Crocus sieberi 'Bowles's White'" . Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  6. "RHS Plant Selector - Crocus sieberi 'Hubert Edelsten'" . Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  7. 1 2 Phillips 1989, p. 25.
  8. "RHS Plant Selector - Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis 'Tricolor'" . Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  9. Ruksans, Janis (2011-01-12). Crocuses: A Complete Guide to the Genus. Timber Press. ISBN   978-1-60469-106-1.