442 
XC. IRIDACE^E. 
[ Crocus. 
widening upwards, plaited. — Named from s-pox »/, a thread or 
filament, from the appearance of the saffron of the shops, which 
consists of the dried stigmas of Crocus sativus. — (In all this 
Genus the germen is concealed under gi%und, elevated by a 
short peduncle from the solid bulb ( cormus ), which peduncle 
elongates, after the decay of the flower, and the capsules appear 
above ground.) 
* Flowers in spring, along with the leaves, 
t Scapes enveloped, in a tubular sheath. 
1. C. *vernus Willd. {purple Spring C.) ; spatha simple, 
stigmas within the flower erect united to above the middle, free 
portions wedge-shaped incise at the end, cormus clothed with 
slender anastomosing fibres. E.B. t. 344. C. sativus L. 
Meadows and fields. Plentiful about Nottingham. If.. 3. 
ft Scapes naked. 
2. C. * minimus Red. ( least purple C.); spatha double, 
stigmas erect longer than the stamens included in the solitary 
flower narrow denticulate at the end, leaves linear filiform, 
cormus with a membranous coat. C. prtecox Haw. in E. B. S. 
t. 2G45. C. reticulatus E. FI. vol. iv. p. 262 (not Bieb.). C. 
biflorus Mill ? 
The park at Barton, Suffolk. It. 3. 
3. C. *aureus Sm. {golden C.) ; spatha simple, stigmas erect 
shorter than the stamens united to above the middle, incise at 
the end, segments of the corolla oblong incurvo-patent, cormus 
coated with compact fibres. Sm. Prodr. FI. Gr. : E. B. S. t. 
2646. 
With the preceding, and equally the outcast of gardens. If.. 3. — 
From this, C. vernus Curtis in But. Mag. t. 45 ( C. Meesiacus Gawl., 
but not of older authors) is perhaps not specifically distinct. 
* * Flowers in autumn, before the leaves. Scapes enveloped in a tubular 
sheath. 
4. C. * sativus L. {Saffron C.) ; spatha double, stigmas linear 
protruded drooping, cormus clothed with slender anastomosing 
fibres. C. autumnalis Sm.: E. B. t. 343. 
Meadows ; as about Saffron Walden in Essex, where it was 
formerly cultivated for the sake of its fragrant stigmas, which con- 
stitute saffron. If. 9. — We fear this plant, far from being a native, 
is not even naturalized in this country. 
5. C. *nudifl6rus Sm. {naked -flowering C.); spatha simple, 
stigmas within the flower erect deeply laeiniate, cormus with 
a membranous coat. — a. stigma equal iu height with the an- 
