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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Crocus''
| image = CrocusLongiflorus.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = ''Crocus longiflorus''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Asparagales]]
| familia = [[Iridaceae]]
| genus = '''''Crocus'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
See text.
}}
{{for|the Alamannic leader|Chrocus}}
{{for|the CROCUS nuclear reactor|École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne}}
[[Image:Eiger.jpg|thumb|left|Wild crocus growing in the foothills of the [[Eiger]] in the [[Alps|European Alps]].]]
'''''Crocus''''' (plural: crocus, crocuses or croci) is a [[genus]] of [[perennial]] [[flower]]ing [[plant]]s, native to a large area from coastal and subalpine areas of central and southern [[Europe]] (including the islands of the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]]), [[North Africa]] and the [[Middle East]], across [[Central Asia]] to western [[China]].
The genus ''Crocus'' is placed botanically in the iris family ([[Iridaceae]]). The plants grow from [[corm]]s and are mainly [[Hardiness (plants)|hardy]] perennials, and are found a wide range of [[Habitat (ecology)|habitat]]s, including woodland, scrub and meadows.
There are about eighty species of crocus (of which approximately 30 are cultivated). Their cup-shaped, solitary, salverform flowers taper off into a narrow tube. Their color varies enormously, although lilac, mauve, yellow and white are predominant. The grass-like, ensiform [[leaf]] shows generally a white central stripe along the leaf axis. The leaf margin is entire. All crocuses typically have three stamens.
The name of the genus is derived from the Latin adjective ''crocatus'', meaning saffron yellow. The spice [[saffron]] is obtained from the [[Carpel|stigma]]s of ''Crocus sativus'', an autumn/fall-blooming [[species]].
==Misuses of the name crocus==
Though some true crocus bloom with the fall (autumn) rains, after summer's heat and drought, the name '''autumn crocus''' is often misused{{Fact|date=March 2007}} as a common name for [[Colchicum]], which is in the lily family ([[Liliaceae]]), and which has six stamens; it is also (confusingly and incorrectly) known as '''meadow saffron'''. The so-called [[Pasque flower|'''prairie crocus''']] (formerly ''Anemone patens'', now ''Pulsatilla patens'' or ''P. ludoviciana'') belongs to the buttercup family ([[Ranunculaceae]]).
==True autumn crocuses==
<gallery>
image:CrocusVernusPickwick.jpg|''Crocus vernus'' 'Pickwick', a Dutch hybrid
image:CrocusEABowles.jpg|''Crocus'' 'E.A. Bowles', <br /> a Chrysanthus hybrid
Image:Frühlingsblumen Krokus.jpg|Crocus [[cultivars]]
</gallery>
Most true '''autumn crocus''' flower in September to November in the northern hemisphere. Some flower before their leaves appear. Autumn/fall flowering species include: ''Crocus banaticus'' (syn. ''C. iridiflorus''), ''C.cancellatus'', ''C. goulimyi'', ''C. hadriaticus'', ''C. kotschyanus'' (syn. ''C. zonatus''), ''C. laevigatus'', ''C. medius'', ''C. niveus'', ''C. nudiflorus'', ''C. ochroleucus'', ''C. pulchellus'', ''C. sativus'' (saffron crocus), ''C. serotinus'', ''C. speciosus'', ''C. tournefortii''. ''Crocus laevigatus'' has a long flowering-period which starts in late autumn or early winter and may continue into February.
<br style="clear:both;">
==In cultivation==
As one of the first flowers to bloom in spring, the large [[hybrid]]ized and selected "Dutch crocus" are popular with gardeners. However, in areas where snow and frost occasionally occur in the early spring it is not uncommon for early-flowering crocuses to suddenly wither and die from a unseasonable frost or snowfall.
Most crocus species and hybrids should be planted in a sunny position, in gritty, well-drained soil, although a few prefer shadier sites in moist soil. Some are suitable for naturalising in grass. The corms should be planted about 3–4 cm deep; in heavy soils a quantity of sharp grit should be dug in to improve drainage.
Some crocuses, especially ''C. tommasini
anus'' and its selected forms and hybrids (such as 'Whitewell Purple' and 'Ruby Giant') seed prolifically and are ideal for naturalising. They can, however, become [[weed]]s in [[rock garden]]s, where they will often appear in the middle of choice, mat-forming alpine plants and can be difficult to remove.
==History==
<gallery>
Image:Saffron gatherers detail Thera Santorini.gif|Saffron gatherers appear in [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] [[fresco]]s on the island of [[Santorini]] in the [[Aegean Sea]]. See [[History of saffron]]
Image:AmbrosiusBosschaertbouquet.jpg|''Composed Bouquet of Spring Flowers'', by [[Ambrosius Bosschaert]], c. 1620 ([[Louvre Museum]])
</gallery>
The first crocus seen in the [[Netherlands]], where ''Crocus'' species are not native, were corms brought back from the Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador to the Sublime Porte, A. Ghislain de Busbeq, in the 1560s. A few corms were forwarded to [[Charles de L'Ecluse|Carolus Clusius]] at the [[botanical garden]] in [[Leiden]]. By 1620, the approximate date of Ambrosius Bosschaert's painting (''illustration, left''), new garden varieties had been developed, such as the cream-colored crocus feathered with bronze at the base of the bouquet, similar to varieties still in the market. Bosschaert, working from a preparatory drawing to paint his composed piece, which spans the whole of Spring, exaggerated the crocus so that it passes for a tulip, but its narrow, grasslike leaves give it away.
== Species ==
[[Image:Crocus-angustifolius.jpg|thumb|right|[[Cloth of gold]] (''Crocus angustifolius'') <br /> from Curtis's Botanical Magazine 1803]]
The [[Taxonomy|taxonomic]] characteristics are based mainly on the presence or absence of a prophyll (a basal spathe) and the aspect of the [[Carpel|style]] and the corm tunic.
1 Subgenus Crocus
:A. Section Crocus
::Series Kotschyani
::* ''[[Crocus autranii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus gilanicus]]'' (discovered in 1973 and named after [[Gilan]] province in Iran where it was first found)
::* ''[[Crocus karduchorum]]''
::* ''[[Crocus kotschyanus]]'' - Kotschy's crocus
::* ''[[Crocus ochroleucus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus scharojanii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus vallicola]]''
::Series Longiflori
[[Image:Crocus serotinus clusii flower.jpg|thumb|right|''Crocus serotinus'' subsp. ''clusii'']]
::* ''[[Crocus goulimyi]]''
::* ''[[Crocus longiflorus]]'' - Italian crocus
::* ''[[Crocus medius]]''
::* ''[[Crocus niveus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus serotinus]]'' - late crocus
::Series Scardici
::* ''[[Crocus pelistericus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus scardicus]]''
::Series Verni
[[Image:Crocus vernus 1.jpg|thumb|right|''Crocus vernus'' subsp. ''vernus'']]
[[Image:Crocus verns albiflorus.jpg|thumb|right|''Crocus vernus'' subsp. ''albiflorus'']]
::* ''[[Crocus baytopiorum]]''
::* ''[[Crocus etruscus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus kosaninii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus tommasinianus]]'' - early crocus
::* ''[[Crocus vernus]]'' - spring crocus, Dutch crocus
::Series Versicolores
::* ''[[Crocus cambessedesii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus corsicus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus imperati]]''
::* ''[[Crocus malyi]]''
::* ''[[Crocus minimus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus versicolor]]'' - cloth-of-silver crocus
::Series Crocus
::* ''[[Crocus asumaniae]]''
::* ''[[Crocus cartwrightianus]]''
:::*''[[Crocus sativus]]'' - saffron crocus (a [[infertility|sterile]] [[triploid]] [[mutant]])
::* ''[[Crocus hadriaticus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus mathewii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus moabiticus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus oreocreticus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus pallasii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus thomasii]]''
:B. Section Nudiscapus
::Series Aleppici
::* ''[[Crocus aleppicus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus boulosii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus veneris]]''
::* ''[[Crocus saris]]''
::Series Biflori
::* ''[[Crocus adanensis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus aerius]]''
::* ''[[Crocus almehensis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus biflorus]]'' - silvery crocus, Scotch crocus
::* ''[[Crocus caspius]]''
::* ''[[Crocus chrysanthus]]'' - golden crocus
::* ''[[Crocus cyprius]]''
::* ''[[Crocus danfordiae]]''
::* ''[[Crocus hartmannianus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus kerndorffiorum]]''
::* ''[[Crocus leichtlinii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus paschei]]''
::* ''[[Crocus
pestalozzae]]''
::* ''[[Crocus wattiorum]]''
::Series Carpetani
::* ''[[Crocus carpetanus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus nevadensis]]''
::Series Flavi
::* ''[[Crocus antalyensis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus candidus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus flavus]]'' - yellow crocus
::* ''[[Crocus graveolens]]''
::* ''[[Crocus hyemalis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus olivieri]]''
::* ''[[Crocus vitellinus]]''
::Series Intertexti
::* ''[[Crocus fleischeri]]''
::Series Laevigatae
::* ''[[Crocus boryi]]''
::* ''[[Crocus laevigatus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus tournefortii]]''
::Series Orientales
::* ''[[Crocus alatavicus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus korolkowii]]'' - celandine crocus
::* ''[[Crocus michelsonii]]''
::Series Reticulati
::* ''[[Crocus abantensis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus ancyrensis]]'' - Ankara crocus
::* ''[[Crocus angustifolius]]'' - cloth-of-gold crocus
::* ''[[Crocus cancellatus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus cvijicii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus dalmaticus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus gargaricus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus hermoneus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus reticulatus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus robertianus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus rujanensis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus sieberi]]'' - Cretan crocus
::* ''[[Crocus sieheanus]]''
::Series Speciosi
::* ''[[Crocus speciosus]]'' - Bieberstein's crocus, large purple crocus
::* ''[[Crocus pulchellus]]'' - hairy crocus
2. Subgenus Crociris
:* ''[[Crocus banaticus]]''
== References ==
*Brian Mathew, Christopher Grey-Wilson, ''Bulbs'', (ill. Marjorie Blamey), Collins, 1981
*Brian Mathew, ''Crocus'': A Revision of the Genus ''Crocus'', Timber Press, 1983. ISBN 0-917304-23-3
*Brian Mathew, ''Flowering Bulbs for the garden'', Collingridge/Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1987. ISBN 0-600-35175-0
{{commons|Crocus|Crocus}}
[[Category:Flowers]]
[[Category:Iridaceae]]
[[Category:Garden plants]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Crocus''
| image = CrocusLongiflorus.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = ''Crocus longiflorus''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Asparagales]]
| familia = [[Iridaceae]]
| genus = '''''Crocus'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
See text.
}}
{{for|the Alamannic leader|Chrocus}}
{{for|the CROCUS nuclear reactor|École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne}}
[[Image:Eiger.jpg|thumb|left|Wild crocus growing in the foothills of the [[Eiger]] in the [[Alps|European Alps]].]]
'''''Crocus''''' (plural: crocus, crocuses or croci) is a [[genus]] of [[perennial]] [[flower]]ing [[plant]]s, native to a large area from coastal and subalpine areas of central and southern [[Europe]] (including the islands of the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]]), [[North Africa]] and the [[Middle East]], across [[Central Asia]] to western [[China]].
The genus ''Crocus'' is placed botanically in the iris family ([[Iridaceae]]). The plants grow from [[corm]]s and are mainly [[Hardiness (plants)|hardy]] perennials, and are found a wide range of [[Habitat (ecology)|habitat]]s, including woodland, scrub and meadows.
There are about eighty species of crocus (of which approximately 30 are cultivated). Their cup-shaped, solitary, salverform flowers taper off into a narrow tube. Their color varies enormously, although lilac, mauve, yellow and white are predominant. The grass-like, ensiform [[leaf]] shows generally a white central stripe along the leaf axis. The leaf margin is entire. All crocuses typically have three stamens.
The name of the genus is derived from the Latin adjective ''crocatus'', meaning saffron yellow. The spice [[saffron]] is obtained from the [[Carpel|stigma]]s of ''Crocus sativus'', an autumn/fall-blooming [[species]].
==Misuses of the name crocus==
Though some true crocus bloom with the fall (autumn) rains, after summer's heat and drought, the name '''autumn crocus''' is often misused{{Fact|date=March 2007}} as a common name for [[Colchicum]], which is in the lily family ([[Liliaceae]]), and which has six stamens; it is also (confusingly and incorrectly) known as '''meadow saffron'''. The so-called [[Pasque flower|'''prairie crocus''']] (formerly ''Anemone patens'', now ''Pulsatilla patens'' or ''P. ludoviciana'') belongs to the buttercup family ([[Ranunculaceae]]).
==True autumn crocuses==
<gallery>
image:CrocusVernusPickwick.jpg|''Crocus vernus'' 'Pickwick', a Dutch hybrid
image:CrocusEABowles.jpg|''Crocus'' 'E.A. Bowles', <br /> a Chrysanthus hybrid
Image:Frühlingsblumen Krokus.jpg|Crocus [[cultivars]]
</gallery>
Most true '''autumn crocus''' flower in September to November in the northern hemisphere. Some flower before their leaves appear. Autumn/fall flowering species include: ''Crocus banaticus'' (syn. ''C. iridiflorus''), ''C.cancellatus'', ''C. goulimyi'', ''C. hadriaticus'', ''C. kotschyanus'' (syn. ''C. zonatus''), ''C. laevigatus'', ''C. medius'', ''C. niveus'', ''C. nudiflorus'', ''C. ochroleucus'', ''C. pulchellus'', ''C. sativus'' (saffron crocus), ''C. serotinus'', ''C. speciosus'', ''C. tournefortii''. ''Crocus laevigatus'' has a long flowering-period which starts in late autumn or early winter and may continue into February.
<br style="clear:both;">
==In cultivation==
As one of the first flowers to bloom in spring, the large [[hybrid]]ized and selected "Dutch crocus" are popular with gardeners. However, in areas where snow and frost occasionally occur in the early spring it is not uncommon for early-flowering crocuses to suddenly wither and die from a unseasonable frost or snowfall.
Most crocus species and hybrids should be planted in a sunny position, in gritty, well-drained soil, although a few prefer shadier sites in moist soil. Some are suitable for naturalising in grass. The corms should be planted about 3–4 cm deep; in heavy soils a quantity of sharp grit should be dug in to improve drainage.
Some crocuses, especially ''C. tommasini
anus'' and its selected forms and hybrids (such as 'Whitewell Purple' and 'Ruby Giant') seed prolifically and are ideal for naturalising. They can, however, become [[weed]]s in [[rock garden]]s, where they will often appear in the middle of choice, mat-forming alpine plants and can be difficult to remove.
==History==
<gallery>
Image:Saffron gatherers detail Thera Santorini.gif|Saffron gatherers appear in [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] [[fresco]]s on the island of [[Santorini]] in the [[Aegean Sea]]. See [[History of saffron]]
Image:AmbrosiusBosschaertbouquet.jpg|''Composed Bouquet of Spring Flowers'', by [[Ambrosius Bosschaert]], c. 1620 ([[Louvre Museum]])
</gallery>
The first crocus seen in the [[Netherlands]], where ''Crocus'' species are not native, were corms brought back from the Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador to the Sublime Porte, A. Ghislain de Busbeq, in the 1560s. A few corms were forwarded to [[Charles de L'Ecluse|Carolus Clusius]] at the [[botanical garden]] in [[Leiden]]. By 1620, the approximate date of Ambrosius Bosschaert's painting (''illustration, left''), new garden varieties had been developed, such as the cream-colored crocus feathered with bronze at the base of the bouquet, similar to varieties still in the market. Bosschaert, working from a preparatory drawing to paint his composed piece, which spans the whole of Spring, exaggerated the crocus so that it passes for a tulip, but its narrow, grasslike leaves give it away.
== Species ==
[[Image:Crocus-angustifolius.jpg|thumb|right|[[Cloth of gold]] (''Crocus angustifolius'') <br /> from Curtis's Botanical Magazine 1803]]
The [[Taxonomy|taxonomic]] characteristics are based mainly on the presence or absence of a prophyll (a basal spathe) and the aspect of the [[Carpel|style]] and the corm tunic.
1 Subgenus Crocus
:A. Section Crocus
::Series Kotschyani
::* ''[[Crocus autranii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus gilanicus]]'' (discovered in 1973 and named after [[Gilan]] province in Iran where it was first found)
::* ''[[Crocus karduchorum]]''
::* ''[[Crocus kotschyanus]]'' - Kotschy's crocus
::* ''[[Crocus ochroleucus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus scharojanii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus vallicola]]''
::Series Longiflori
[[Image:Crocus serotinus clusii flower.jpg|thumb|right|''Crocus serotinus'' subsp. ''clusii'']]
::* ''[[Crocus goulimyi]]''
::* ''[[Crocus longiflorus]]'' - Italian crocus
::* ''[[Crocus medius]]''
::* ''[[Crocus niveus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus serotinus]]'' - late crocus
::Series Scardici
::* ''[[Crocus pelistericus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus scardicus]]''
::Series Verni
[[Image:Crocus vernus 1.jpg|thumb|right|''Crocus vernus'' subsp. ''vernus'']]
[[Image:Crocus verns albiflorus.jpg|thumb|right|''Crocus vernus'' subsp. ''albiflorus'']]
::* ''[[Crocus baytopiorum]]''
::* ''[[Crocus etruscus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus kosaninii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus tommasinianus]]'' - early crocus
::* ''[[Crocus vernus]]'' - spring crocus, Dutch crocus
::Series Versicolores
::* ''[[Crocus cambessedesii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus corsicus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus imperati]]''
::* ''[[Crocus malyi]]''
::* ''[[Crocus minimus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus versicolor]]'' - cloth-of-silver crocus
::Series Crocus
::* ''[[Crocus asumaniae]]''
::* ''[[Crocus cartwrightianus]]''
:::*''[[Crocus sativus]]'' - saffron crocus (a [[infertility|sterile]] [[triploid]] [[mutant]])
::* ''[[Crocus hadriaticus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus mathewii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus moabiticus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus oreocreticus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus pallasii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus thomasii]]''
:B. Section Nudiscapus
::Series Aleppici
::* ''[[Crocus aleppicus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus boulosii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus veneris]]''
::* ''[[Crocus saris]]''
::Series Biflori
::* ''[[Crocus adanensis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus aerius]]''
::* ''[[Crocus almehensis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus biflorus]]'' - silvery crocus, Scotch crocus
::* ''[[Crocus caspius]]''
::* ''[[Crocus chrysanthus]]'' - golden crocus
::* ''[[Crocus cyprius]]''
::* ''[[Crocus danfordiae]]''
::* ''[[Crocus hartmannianus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus kerndorffiorum]]''
::* ''[[Crocus leichtlinii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus paschei]]''
::* ''[[Crocus
pestalozzae]]''
::* ''[[Crocus wattiorum]]''
::Series Carpetani
::* ''[[Crocus carpetanus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus nevadensis]]''
::Series Flavi
::* ''[[Crocus antalyensis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus candidus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus flavus]]'' - yellow crocus
::* ''[[Crocus graveolens]]''
::* ''[[Crocus hyemalis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus olivieri]]''
::* ''[[Crocus vitellinus]]''
::Series Intertexti
::* ''[[Crocus fleischeri]]''
::Series Laevigatae
::* ''[[Crocus boryi]]''
::* ''[[Crocus laevigatus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus tournefortii]]''
::Series Orientales
::* ''[[Crocus alatavicus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus korolkowii]]'' - celandine crocus
::* ''[[Crocus michelsonii]]''
::Series Reticulati
::* ''[[Crocus abantensis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus ancyrensis]]'' - Ankara crocus
::* ''[[Crocus angustifolius]]'' - cloth-of-gold crocus
::* ''[[Crocus cancellatus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus cvijicii]]''
::* ''[[Crocus dalmaticus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus gargaricus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus hermoneus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus reticulatus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus robertianus]]''
::* ''[[Crocus rujanensis]]''
::* ''[[Crocus sieberi]]'' - Cretan crocus
::* ''[[Crocus sieheanus]]''
::Series Speciosi
::* ''[[Crocus speciosus]]'' - Bieberstein's crocus, large purple crocus
::* ''[[Crocus pulchellus]]'' - hairy crocus
2. Subgenus Crociris
:* ''[[Crocus banaticus]]''
== References ==
*Brian Mathew, Christopher Grey-Wilson, ''Bulbs'', (ill. Marjorie Blamey), Collins, 1981
*Brian Mathew, ''Crocus'': A Revision of the Genus ''Crocus'', Timber Press, 1983. ISBN 0-917304-23-3
*Brian Mathew, ''Flowering Bulbs for the garden'', Collingridge/Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1987. ISBN 0-600-35175-0
{{commons|Crocus|Crocus}}
[[Category:Flowers]]
[[Category:Iridaceae]]
[[Category:Garden plants]]
