SPRING CROCUS 



SPRING CROCUS 



Crdcus. 

 Crocus, the ancient classical name for saffron. 



Well-known horticultural group of early blooming plants; in their 

 garden forms chiefly hybrids. 



Crocus vernus, native of southern Europe, is the parent of many 

 of the cultivated lilac and white varieties. Crocus bifldrus, also from 

 southern Europe, produces the group known as the Scotch Crocus. 

 Crocus mcesiacus or aureus, ranging from Transylvania to Asia Minor, 

 is the primitive of the Yellow Dutch Crocus. Crocus susianus, from 

 Crimea, is the favorite yellow crocus known as the Cloth of Gold; it 

 appears in variants and hybrids. Crocus versicolor, from the mountains 

 of southern France, is the parent of the purplish-feather-veined crocuses 

 so common in gardens. Crocus salivas, from Asia Minor, is the com- 

 mon fall-blooming species and the source of the saffron of commerce. 

 These are the parents of the common crocuses of the trade. 



Corm. — Three-fourths to an inch in diameter. 



Leaves. — Grass-like, rising directly from the corm, in some species 

 two to four, in others four to eight, forming tufts or bundles; linear, 

 edges usually reflexed and a central band of white. 



Flowers. — Showy, in many colors, ranging through purples, hlacs, 

 and yellows, to white, often feather-veined and striped. 



Perianth. — Funnel-shaped and erect, with a very long tube and six 

 nearly equal segments. Spathe one-flowered. 



Stamens. — ^Three, inserted at the throat of the tube, shorter than the 

 segments; filaments thread-like; anthers linear. 



Ovary. — ^Three-celled; style long, thread-like; style-branches entire 

 at margin, or fimbriated, or forked. 



Capsule. — ^Three-celled, often more than an inch long, seeds many. 



The flaming crocus made the mountains glow. — Homer. 



Our association of early spring with the Crocus and the daffo- 

 dil is a memory acquired in gardens; for neither is native to 

 American soil. To us of the North, spring comes in the soft, 

 feathery, white bloom of the shad-bush, or the pale tints of the 

 sturdy hepatica, or the blushing petals of the spring beauty. 



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