Crocus November 2009

[mark smyth]

ochroleucus are one of my favourite autumn Crocus. I must put some in a trough next year

[Gerry Webster]

Crocus niveus    

From Archibald seed (pop. ref. 348.800); ex JCA5132, Greece, Messinia, S of Kalamata, nr. Stavropigio,100m., olive grove, clay on limestone.

[dominique]

Gerry
Very nice plants. I hope you have seeds of yours
Dom

[mark smyth]

Great shots. Your bulbs are doing better than mine. I only had two flowers  

While changing over the bulbs there was a huge root coming out of my niveus and easily the size of the clip of a Bic pen. What was it?

[hadacekf]

Still flowers somewhat in my meadow.

[Gerry Webster]

Gerry
Very nice plants. I hope you have seeds of yours
Dom

Thanks Dom - I'll get busy with the paintbrush though C. niveus has never yet produced seed with me

Great shots. Your bulbs are doing better than mine. I only had two flowers 

While changing over the bulbs there was a huge root coming out of my niveus and easily the size of the clip of a Bic pen. What was it?

Thanks Mark - the shot had little to do with me, by chance the light was just right.
I suspect your plants were not planted  deeply enough & this was a contractile root attempting to pull them further down. 

[Gerry Webster]

Still flowers somewhat in my meadow.

Franz -  Your meadow plants are usually wonderful but I'm sorry to say  that your C. medius looks as though it is virused.

[Janis Ruksans]

Still flowers somewhat in my meadow.

You ligusticus (medius) is heavy virus-infected. Destroy it's corms as soon as possible to save others from infection!
Janis

[hadacekf]

Thanks for the advice.

[I.S.]

  This weekend I have visited a location of C. speciosus subsp. xantholaimos from north west Turkey. I was planning for last week but because of rain I could do this weekend. I would like to share a few pics.
   The size of flower is very close to C. pulchellus. It was easier to identify by membranous corm tunic.
It lives in the oak forest by road sides with small populations.
  
   C. speciosus subsp. xantholaimos


  

[Janis Ruksans]

Very nice pictures. Corm tunics in pulchellus and speciosus are similar and size of flowers could be similar,too, but most easy to seperate by color of anthers which in pulchellus allways(?) are white (never saw other), but in speciosus yellow, although in some Caucasian speciosus they can be nearly white. Then shape of flower and pattern of stripes can something help, and flowers of Caucasian speciosus is much larger in size (usually).
Janis

[I.S.]

  Janis what I mean; some thimes standart C. speciosus might have also yelowish throat as you showed before but this subsp. of speciosus has a soft membranous tunic while the C. speciosus subsp. speciosus has eggshell tunic. (At least mine C. speciosus subsp. speciosus has bigger size than this subsp. xantholaimos and eggshell tunic) For sure it easy to separate from C. puchellus by yellow anthers.
 From the vains or stripes I can not see realy difference!
 Here is my C. speciosus subsp. speciosus corm to see the different between.

[Sinchets]

Good to see some variation in the wild C.s.xantholaimos, Ibrahim.
Here recent rains, and cooler weather, have reminded our lowland populations of Crocus pallasii pallasii, that it is time to flower. Growing on limestone, or sandstone, several of the populations were large enough to show a wide range of colour forms and petal shapes. Albino forms were also present- suffice to say they look nothing like the white form of C.pallasii shown on the website of a bulb supplier 
The pictures are an attempt to show the variation in the 2 largest populations. The first in a hillside pasture under oak, beech and pine; the second in a gritty limestone brown earth soil, between a railway embankment and a road.

[Sinchets]

We are assuming the wide range of colours and forms of petals means that increase must be principally through seed. Indeed clumps of plants in flower have not been seen at any of the sites we have visited. Where 2 plants are flowering close to each other, flower colour is usually different- though similar- possibly implying both are from the same seedpod.
There was evidence in some areas that bulbs had been dug up by animals- though it was difficult to tell from the size of the holes which animal had been doing this. Muscari bulbs were found on the soil surface around these holes.

[Sinchets]

Several plants were seen at the first site, which were 'near albinos' being white with grey markings and grey outer throats. We have no pictures of these due to heavy mist and strong winds at their location. Later true albinos were seen which were white with no veining at all. The picture shows a flower which is going over, but which was in the best condition of the ones seen.