Crocuses in December - 2008

[Anthony Darby]

I'm still thinking of the girl with the dragon tattoo. I have had an email with a bloke with the dragon tattoo, but that another story, and you'd certainly not want to see it rear its ugly head!

[Thomas Huber]

Crocus speciosus ALBUS has yellow throat, but style is multifid. See picture.
Janis

Janis, I also noticed the soft yellow touch in the throat of speciosus Albus, but this is
just the yellow of style and anthers, reflecting in the white throat. If you remove both
from the flower the yellow in the throat will disappear.

[mark smyth]

Very observant Thomas. It's the same with some 'orange' snowdrops

[Janis Ruksans]

No Thomas, Mark, you are not right. Crocus speciosus albus has light yellow throat as well as some other cultivars and many wild forms. It isn't reflex from style and anthers. Some speciosus forms in wild has white anthers, too. So, using only traditional keys and without knowledge as true species must to look, you can't tell what is in front of you - speciosus or pulchellus. I well remember how problematic it was for me 40 years ago without literature and having only Zephyr as sample of pulchellus.
Janis

[mark smyth]

Can someone tell me the difference between Crocus laevegatus dark form and the late form? My dark form has, over the last few days, produced more flowers than it did during the autumn.

[tonyg]

Janis - thank you for helping us to understand better.  The comments about variability in wild populations are just what we need.  As I am often an 'armchair botanist' the experience of someone like yourself is invaluable.  Another forumist (Zhirair) has found C speciosus in Armenia which looks like hybrids with C pulchellus but must also be within the variation that you report.
Now I must consult the recent crocus paper to discover is C speciosus and C pulchellus still stand as seperate species

[Janis Ruksans]

Mark,
Those names for laevigatus "late form", "dark form" are only nicknames for clones. There can be dark flowers between early blooming plants as well as between late bloomers etc. Crocus laevigatus is extremely variable both by color (although light forms dominated in populations seen by me) and by flowering time - starting in late autumn (here) and going through winter up to very early spring (depending from temperatures).
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Janis - thank you for helping us to understand better.  The comments about variability in wild populations are just what we need.  As I am often an 'armchair botanist' the experience of someone like yourself is invaluable.  Another forumist (Zhirair) has found C speciosus in Armenia which looks like hybrids with C pulchellus but must also be within the variation that you report.
Now I must consult the recent crocus paper to discover is C speciosus and C pulchellus still stand as separate species

Of course both are different species but just Zhirairs speciosus from Armenia from where pulchellus is in thousands of km distance, shows how wide can be borders of species and that not allways you can use keys for identification. I'm not mentioning here albinos. I couldn't image how to separate white C. chrysanthus forms from white biflorus - the shade softer? Possibly some of you know?
Nice last day of Old Year and Happy NEW YEAR!
Janis

[mark smyth]

Janis you look so cool in your photo dressed in white with a glass of red wine

This is my Crocus in question. The close up was taken two weeks ago

[Janis Ruksans]

Janis you look so cool in your photo dressed in white with a glass of red wine

This is my Crocus in question. The close up was taken two weeks ago

Mark,
Picture is made in Greece, Monemvasia, beautifull evening rest after a day in mountains this autumn. But glass of red wine is my usual end of day. It helps against Parkinson and Alcheimer diseases (so I'm explaining to my wife).
My darkest laevigatus (and one of latest, too) you can see on page one, third entry on this topic.
Looks quite similar to yours, possibly same clone only yours stock is larger than mine.
Sincerely
Janis

[Anthony Darby]

Reminiscent of a Keith Floyd pose. Just need The Stranglers playing 'Looking at the peaches'.

[HClase]

Yellow throat is not typical for C speciosus. Are any leaves present?  Might be niveus if so .... but I doubt it as you know your crocuses Howard!

I've only just got back to looking at this thread.  I was too preoccupied with various other things, but I've now finished the book and played with all my new toys!   I didn't look it up at all, just guessed on the basis of what I thought it might be!  I did have a pot of C. niveus seedlings once, but thought I'd lost them.  It had leaves about 4 cm high at flowering, which is clearly not typical of speciosus albus and now I've looked in Mathew I have to agree with Tony and Janis.  Thanks.  I'm pleased to have it - must mark it's position in the pot before I forget.  (I'm not that much of an expert Tony - my range of experience is rather limited to the few species that are hardy here and what I can fit into my tiny frame.)

[Luc Gilgemyn]

A very handsome pot of C. laevigatus Mark !

[Tony Willis]

Reminiscent of a Keith Floyd pose. Just need The Stranglers playing 'Looking at the peaches'.

Now I understand it gives you cancer! My friend cannot have butter,too much colesterol and he is eighty six. Better to have lived a little I think.

[Lesley Cox]

Can someone tell me the difference between Crocus laevegatus dark form and the late form? My dark form has, over the last few days, produced more flowers than it did during the autumn.

One's dark and the other's late Mark.