New Crocus Year 2020

[Ophrys]

Happy New Year,

The new year starts good with seedling of Crocus dispathaceus and flowering Crocus alatavicus!

Best wishes
Ophrys

[Lesley Cox]

I've at last lost my Cr. alatavicus which held on bravely for many years in a raised bed but otherwise unprotected. Before we moved to our present garden it always flowered in July/August (New Zealand) but the flowers were usually frosted appearing as they did in the coldest part of winter. We have less frost here but, it seems so much more rain and the combination hasn't been to their liking. I'll have to try and find seed somewhere because I did like its grey shading very much.

[Maggi Young]

Here's  hoping  all  our  crocus  give  us   pleasure  in 2020!

[Janis Ruksans]

More and more crocuses comes out. Yesterday noted that buds of flowers of pink Crocus alatavicus are out to half size. I pictured well developed Crocus athous and still quite fresh Crocus hartmannianus - both in buds as there are no sun. Weather is cool and very wet. Long term weather forecast predicts all January warmer than normally and with very few days when night temperatures could be slightly below zero but days all will be with + degrees. Doors in my polytunnel are fully open and temperature inside is the same as outside. Minimum during last 3 weeks was minus 4.5 C. Started blooming Juno irises sand as always the first is Iris rosenbackiana from Vahsh, Tadjikistan. Coloured buds has spring sternbergias - Sternbergia fischeriana must to open in few days, S. candida is halfway but already coloured.

[Janis Ruksans]

Last weather forecast this morning informed that this already is the warmest winter during history of temperature recording. To change - will be needed horrible frosts of Central Siberia during all February, but long term prognosis shows that during all January only few nights will be with minor minus degrees and similar most likely will be February, too. By this winter temperatures we were compared with Ireland and Northern France.
Yesterday I again brought in two pots with crocuses. This case those were Iranian samples from 2018 years expedition.
In this entry is flowers of gathering 18IRS-055, collected some 20 km from Saqqez and after careful checking of flower features was confirmed preliminary identification by corm tunics as Crocus iranicus, Only colour of bract and bracteole were silvery without (?) greenish shade at tips, but this could be caused by very dark weather. Of course later will be checked leaves, too, for final confirmation of identification. Type gathering was collected in 2008 just near border of Saqqez city, where now is city rabbish depository and population from there was completely destroyed.

[Janis Ruksans]

More distantly from Saqqez, in place which got from our group the nickname "Anemone field" were collected few corms of another crocus (18IRS-054) preliminary labeled as Crocus iranicus aff. Now, checking flowers, I found few differences from typical C. iranicus. I don't think that they are very important - not easy to check presence of minor hairs or papilla in throat, because I have now eye problems and next month will have surgical treatment on my right eye - my most important working eye. Final decision again will be done after checking of leaf morphology. Of course we must accept that no one species is stable as milestone - they are changing and variable. Prof. Arne Strid once wrote me - "it is as with humans, regardless, are your eyes blue or brown, hairs straight or curled - we all are Homo sapiens" (although the second word quite often can be put under very great question mark.
Here a pair of pictures of Crocus iranicus 18IRS-054, picture of our group on the field, then Anemone field (already shown earlier), after which was nicknamed locality and as last - bridge over river in valley near locality.

[Janis Ruksans]

I decided that every day I will bring in for pictures, herbarium and flower detail observation two different gatherings, one pot of each. It takes time for flowers to open but especially to prepair and observe flower details.
In this entry another crocus which I provisionally labelled as Crocus iranicus. It was collected another year and at another locality along same road. Still the flowers seems very close to type iranicus. Remain only to check other features.

Really many of Iranian "biflorus" (more correctly would be use epithet "adamii" as they, according Harpke, are forming own Series) by flower looks very similar and identification seem to be quite difficult. Now comparing some of mine Iranian with those 3 species published by Kerndorff & Pasche, it was quite difficult to separate mine C. inghamii from C. zanjanensis of HKEP - differences are very minor and could depend from accuracy, population variation or interpretation by observer. C. zanjanensis is reported from locality apr. 70 km to South from C. inghami locality, unfortunately sometimes data given by HKEP about type localities are far too approximate or even incorrect (see C. bifloriformis, mawii and some others). If they will turn identical - then priority belongs to epithet C. inghamii. Although both are published in same year, C. inghami was published by International Rock Gardener in May, whilst C. zanjanensis in Stapfia at end of year.

[Yann]

Very nice report Janis, this species (form?) is looking cute.

[Janis Ruksans]

I continue with Iranian crocuses. This one (18IRS-037) almost certainly is the new one, still unpublished. There are several features seen already in flower separating it from C. iranicus. Still need comparing with HKEP's C. sanandajensis, although collected just in opposite direction from Sanandaj and quite distantly. I still need blooming of two acquisitions growing wild in both directions from 18IRS-037 shown here.

[Janis Ruksans]

Yesterday I was too busy with other occupations for bringing inside some crocus pots. Regardless of some sun, in greenhouse flowers remained tightly closed, but a pair of pictures looked quite impressive, so here buds of Crocus mysius - note the difference of colour. Another is very beautiful Crocus fauseri - named after Australian Crocus enthusiast Otto Fauser (hope, Otto, that you didn't suffer from horrible fire disaster). And using possibility of showing 5 pictures per entry - here Colchicum antepense - at moment most floriferous plant in my greenhouse, Gymnospermium albertii - which just starts blooming and one of reticulata irises from Iran, collected in 2008 as Iris reticulata WHIR-134, but certainly needs proper name. Thre WHIR can be decifered as Jill White's Iranian Group.

[Janis Ruksans]

Today is extremely dark but I brought inside two pots with crocuses and checked time for opening from tightly closed buds to such flowers. Pictures were made just 17 minutes after putting of pots on our kitchen's window-sill.
On pictures - Crocus artvinensis and C. chrysanthus from Mt. Parnassos in Greek Macedonia (originally gathered by Jim Archibald).

[Janis Ruksans]

Today I brought in 3 pots with crocuses. In this entry one of the best forms of Crocus ancyrensis sensu lato. DNA showed that under this name are hidden 5 different species. This one has deep purple flower tube.

[Janis Ruksans]

Today again 3 pots were brought inside. I pictured them just after bringing in, when flowers were in tight bud, then 15 minutes later and last picture is 20-25 minutes after bringing in. Unfortunately I did this on;ly in afternoon, 20 minutes past two, so it was quite dark and tomorrow I will try to picture them again in the first half of day.
In this entry Crocus antherotes which I got from Dirk and was reported by him as identified by H. Kerndorff.

[Janis Ruksans]

Another trio of pictures by the same schedule - just after bringing in, 15 minutes later ad last 20-25 minutes after bringing in. In this case it is Crocus mediotauricus HKEP-0112

[Janis Ruksans]

The third taxa brought inside today was very special species from C. chrysanthus sensu lato group from Bozdag Range, W Turkey. Here on the first picture - just after bringing inside with tightly closed buds and then 3 pictures starting from 15 minutes after bringing in and the last is the same crocus pictured in the wild in 2013.