Crocus November 2009

[udo]

Janis, very nice pictures from Cr.nerimaniae. Not good news, virus-plants in nature.
Here some pics in my greenhouse:
Crocus veneris in two forms
   ''      pallasii ssp.pallasii, Bulgaria
   ''      thomasii, Italy, without pale yellow throat

What is well the difference between Cr.pallasii and thomasii ?

[Sinchets]

WOW to the C.nerimaniae. How common is virus in wild populations of any Crocus?
Flowering here now on the second warm sunny day following a week of cold wet winter:
The first C.ochroleucus
C.cartwrightianus a later flowering group
C.boryi C.hadriaticus
C.laevigatus 'Fontaneyi'
C.pallasii to my mind is quite distinct to C.thomasii, but then I also think that C.pallasii pallasii from Bulgaria and Greece also look quite distinct from those found in Turkey

[udo]

Simon,
your boryi is possibly a hadriaticus.
Cr boryi have white antheren.

[Janis Ruksans]

What is well the difference between Cr.pallasii and thomasii ?

Throat of C. thomasii flowers allways can be characterised as yellow, at least some yellow is presented. C. pallasii has white throat, rarely bluish, greyish shaded but without yellow.
Janis

[Sinchets]

Simon,
your boryi is possibly a hadriaticus.
Cr boryi have white antheren.

Thanks, Dirk.

[Janis Ruksans]

Now further day by day our trip. After leaving of Labranda the rest of day was dedicated to "cultural" program - we visited ruins of Heraklion where most impressive was Narcissus serotinus in full bloom between "roman" stones (and in other spots without concurrent vegetation). The best looking terrace restaurant forced us to wait more than hour before our ordered meal was served (they went to mountains to look for lamb, to make ordered kebab  ). Further on roadside were marvellous spots of Sternbergia in full bloom and excellent Cyclamen mirabile (?) clumps. Unfortunately for long dinner we reached Ephesus (one of the greatest monuments of greek-roman time in Turkey) quite late and had only 1,5 hours to see all those wonders, before it became too dark. After that we drove in darkness to Pammukale - another marvellous place for its unique nature monument - hot (I would use word -warm) springs and for ruins of old roman city, too. But morning greeted us with deep fog, dark clouds and just we finished quick look on most impressive monuments started heavy rain. So we started our way back to South coast. Fortunately after passing of ridge (we missed visiting of interesting crocus place, too heavy rain) clouds became thinner and when we turned in direction to Dirmil pass on roadside I saw something lilac (first idea - Colchicum). It turned most marvellous population of Crocus cancellatus subsp. mazziaricus of greatest variability. You can judge it by pictures. Give your attention not only to color of flower segments but to degree of stigma divisions - from many-threaded to only slightly cutted at tips and as extreme only three branched. Check the base color, too. - from white till deep lilac. If I would see alone plant on picture 09 - I would think that it is C. mathewii, but picture is made very far from C. mathewii localities, and on picture 10 you can see its corm tunics. Presence of all those variants in one population growing in open meadow with sparse shrubs and little grass shows how great variation could be in one species in one population and how difficult could be identification by flower picture only and by single cultivated plant without seeing natural population. Sorry for quality of some pictures - I accidentally changed settings of my camera and there many pictures were overexposed and I used photoshop to make them something informative, but details are lost. Pity (my usual mistake).
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

In following days from Crocus cancellatus complex we saw only quite uniform subsp. lycius. There are picture selection from all localities as everywhere variability was limited to amount of outside stripes at base of flower segments, color of stigmatic branches - mostly typical yellow, but sometimes even deep orange. Usually style branches were +/- at level of anther tips, flowers generally smaller than in mazziaricus. In nature no problems to identify. It tend to pine forest sides, it grew in forest, too but more abundant is just on forest sides. The greatest number we found in place where forest was cutted for high-power electroline. Ground usually very stony, in case of mazziaricus it is more soil-like. By water drops on some flowers you can judge how wet and rainy was weather during our trip, but there were few sunny moments in first half of day.
Janis

[Geebo]

 Hello Janis,
Thanks for all the beautifully pictures and intersting information,sorry to learn about the bad weather You had to face while on your trip over there,wish I was there,,,!!
Have You send out Your new Bulblist 2010 in the post as yet.

Cheers
 Guy

[Janis Ruksans]

We passed night in Kankal - in excellent 2-star hotel (Kelebek hotel) on roadside for price 50,- Euro for 3 persons in 2 rooms. Evening meal was superb made by hotel owner and his wife and we were served by their son. 3-dish meal cost us another 50,- Euro together including bottle of quite good Turkish wine. In night again were heavy rain but morning greeted us with bright sun and we drove in search for Crocus mathewii. As you can see on most of pictures flowers are covered by water-drops. Only few flowers were open. Here you see some variability in color of inner base and in color of flower segments. I mostly liked those with lilac shaded flower segments. I didn't find any with white inner base, the palest base you can see in one of pictures. One of the most impressive, unfortunately flower segment substance was washed out by last rains, was vegetative clump formed by 7-9 corms. Crocus mathewii locally was quite abundant but in many places there was occasional findings only. It mostly grew in deep grass and on sides of solitary shrubs.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Hello Janis,
Have You send out Your new Bulblist 2010 in the post as yet.
Cheers
 Guy

I hope to post my new catalogue in february, may be end of January.
Janis

[I.S.]

Janis süperb pictures from wild. Lots of admirable forms
I wish to be there also but
It is very bat news about C. nerimaniae. The virused plants that you have all were around Labranda? This crocus has not large distributions. We don't have this crocus in another provence!


 

[Janis Ruksans]

It is very bat news about C. nerimaniae. The virused plants that you have all were around Labranda? This crocus has not large distributions. We don't have this crocus in another provence!

Ibrahim,
We explored quite large population behind Labranda ruins, we didn't go further up to other known localities. I simply wanted pictures from wild and to check - did my plants got virus in cultivation or they braught virus with them from nature. I know that it is very local species of quite specific growing conditions. There are not many so open places in pine forest at so low altitude in other parts of Turkey. Fortunately seedlings of it are healthy. I suppose that poor seed crop from C. nerimaniae is caused mostly just by presence of virus in plants what quite often reduce seed crops in Iridaceae. My experience with several Juno irises showed that they become sterile when got virus infection. Muscari on other side even heavy infected are fertile.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Road went higher and higher and soon Crocus mathewii disappear from explored sites and left only Crocus cancellatus lycius, growing almost everywhere so we turned by side road down back to coast. Next stop we made when I from fast driving car noted again white crocus on roadside slope which in shape of closed buds looked slightly different from so common lycius. As all the time periodically dropped some drops of rain, flowers were closed and after long search I found a pair slightly open which showed its three-branched stigma and color of inside. I named it Crocus pallasii, but population was quite unusual. If usually pallasii is more or less lilac, only rarely you can find pure white specimens, in this population all plants were white only few slightly lilac shaded. If it wouldn't be find so far from Akseki I would be in doubt - is it pallasii or asumaniae? Although Brian Mathew in personal communication expressed opinion that may be asumaniae better could be regarded as variant of pallasii. It grew only on very open roadside slope, higher under pine trees I spotted only C. cancellatus lycius, rarely foundable between C. pallasii, too, but easy separable by shape of flower - much slender and longer than in lycius. Soil - very stony clay.
I and my friends were surprised for absence of any Colchicum during our trip. We just talked about this when on roadside under large pine trees in dry gully I spotted first Colchicum. It turned to be very widespread Colchicum variegatum. So I'm adding a pair of its pictures, too.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Now last entry from our trip to Turkey. Next day we found only everywhere growing Crocus cancellatus lycius but nice addition was Colchicums sanguicolle and decaisneii, may two species growing together as some specimens named as decaisneii had much larger flowers with wider and more rounded flower segments. Unfortunately I accidentally changed my camera settings to monochrome and got only black-white pictures. The last day we went to place where many years ago at peak of summer I collected a pair corms of Crocus pallasii. There it was in full flowers now scattered on very stony N-NE faced slope, mostly between stones, very rarely inside very spiny shrubs. Population was very uniform in color - generally light lilac and I saw only one or two relatively whitish specimens and only when we were driving out of valley I suddenly noted one dark lilac group of 3 flowers forcing me to stop car for additional picture. As you can see from habitat shots - this crocus growth between Roman ruins, too.
We returned to Antalya through Karlik Dag hoping to see some Crocuses there, too, but left with nothing. Few years ago I crossed this ridge in spring and found no one Crocus, too, although some spots looked quite good for Crocuses. May be we were not in best time and best places there. It allways is great luck to catch the exact moment. Really we were very successful. We found everything what we wanted to see, made a lot of pictures, few you saw on my entries.
In home crocuses still are blooming although days are very dark and flowers stay closed, so no pictures can be added. Collected bodies of many mice who enjoyed nice pink meal left by me in greenhouses and replaced new poison in empty tubes. Weather something too wet and dark, a lot of job taking away old flowers which ended blooming during 10 days of my absence. On Tuesday I'm going to hospital so I again will be out of forum for some time.
Janis

[Hans A.]

  - Wow - so many superb crocus in its natural enviroment!
Thank you very much, Janis.