CROCUS 



FLAG OBDEB 



CEOCus 941 



purple. The anthers are orange, and the 

 stigmas are scarlet. The variety micran- 

 thus simply differs in having smaller 

 flowers, but it is a native of Cilicia. 

 Culture do. as above, p. 937. 



C. Salzmanni. — An autumnal Crocus 

 from the S. of Spain and N. Africa, with 

 prominently keeled leaves, 12-18 in. long, 

 developed before the flowers in autumn. 

 The perianth tube is 3-4 in. long, with a 

 bearded yellow throat, and vinous - lilac 

 or sometimes white segments, feathered 

 with purple outside. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. sativus (Saffron Crocus). — This 

 species and its many forms are found, 

 from Italy eastwards to Kurdistan, and 

 may be distinguished by the rather large 

 globular depressed corms and narrow 

 keeled and ciliated leaves. The flowers 

 appear from October to early in December, 

 and have a white or purple bearded throat 

 and bright lilac segments, purple towards 

 the throat and suffused throughout with 

 purple veins. The scarlet drooping 

 stigmata are occasionally fringed and 

 about 2 in. long. The cultivated forms 

 furnish the Saifron of commerce, but 

 they never produce seed. Of the many 

 forms, those most often seen are cart- 

 wrightia/nus, lilac, and its white form 

 albus ; Elwesi, rosy-lilac ; Hausshnechti, 

 very free-flowering ; Pallasi, lilac, deli- 

 cately veined ; To/Ma, deep lilac. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. Scharojani.— A distinct and hand- 

 some Crocus, native of the "Western 

 Caucasus, where it grows wild at an 

 elevation of about 7000 ft. The flowers 

 appear in July and August and are of a 

 bright deep orauge-yellbw with acute 

 perianth segments and a 3-cleft stigma. 

 The leaves appear after the flowers, and 

 persist until the flowering period the 

 following year. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. This 

 Crocus is injured by lifting and storing, 

 as it is nearly always in growth. If 

 lifted immediately after flowering, the 

 corms should be replanted at once. 



C. Sieberi [C. nivalis; C. sublimis). 

 This species is abundant at high eleva- 

 tions on the Greek mountains and archi- 

 pelago, and its smooth leaves, with open 

 unribbed lateral channels, appear with 

 the flowers in February and March. The 

 perianth is of a uniform bright lilac with 



a rich golden base, and a beardless orange 

 throat, in the centre of which are the 

 orange stamens and orange-scarlet stig- 

 mata. The variety versicolor varies in 

 colour from white to purple, with white 

 and purple veins and feathering, and 

 always a rich golden-yellow base. 

 Culture do. as above, p. 937. 



C. speciosus. — This handsome species 

 extends from Central Europe eastwards 

 through the Crimea and Caucasus to 

 Persia, and is perhaps the finest of all 

 the autumnal Crocuses. It has roundish 

 corms, and prominently keeled leaves 

 appearing almost at the same time as the 

 large flowers, which show at the end of 

 September and in October. They are of 

 a beautiful bright lilac or bluish-purple, 

 striped inside with deeper purple, and 

 having bright orange conspicuously 

 fr'inged stigmata in the centre. The 

 variety transyl/vanicus has flowers of a 

 deeper purple-lilac than the type, and 

 with it is excellent for naturalising in 

 grass land. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. stellaris, the origin of which is 

 obscvu'e, has long been in cultivation, 

 and has been considered a hybrid between 

 aureus and susianus, as it combines the 

 characters of both these species. It has 

 orange flowers distinctly leathered with 

 bronze outside, and these appear in early 

 March, but have never been known to 

 mature seeds. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. suaveolens. — A fine Italian species 

 with leaves 8-9 in. long appearing with 

 the flowers in March. Perianth tube 3-4 

 in. long with a bright orapge beardless 

 throat, and narrow lance-shaped lilac 

 segments, the outer surface being suffused 

 with buff and lined with purple. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. susianus (C revolutus). — Cloth of 

 Gold Crocus. — A charming Crocus from 

 the Crimea and Caucasus with cihated 

 leaves, producing its deep orange flowers 

 in February, variously feathered with 

 deep brown, occasionally entirely orange- 

 yellow, or evenly suffused with brown. 

 The orange anthers are twice as long as 

 the orange filaments, and contrast with 

 the orange-scarlet stigmata. 



Culture dc. as above, p. 937. 



C. tommasinianus A Dalmatian 



Crocus with channelled leaves 9-10 in. 



