Crocus cartwrightianus is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, native to mainland Greece, Euboea, Crete, Skyros and some islands of the Cyclades.[1] It is a cormous perennial growing to 5 cm (2 in). The flowers, in shades of lilac or white with purple veins and prominent red stigmas, appear with the leaves in autumn and winter.[2]
| Crocus cartwrightianus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Iridaceae |
| Genus: | Crocus |
| Species: | C. cartwrightianus
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| Binomial name | |
| Crocus cartwrightianus | |
Description edit
The flower style divides while still within the throat of the flower, well below the bases of the anthers. The branches of the stigma are taller than the anthers and about the same length as the petals. The throat of the flower is bearded. The leaves and flowers are produced at the same.[3][clarification needed]
The Latin specific epithet cartwrightianus refers to the 19th century British Consul to Constantinople, John Cartwright.[4]
C. cartwrightianus is the presumed wild progenitor of the domesticated triploid Crocus sativus – the saffron crocus[5][6][7] with a population in Attica, Greece suggested as the closest known modern population to the saffron ancestors.[8] It had previously been believed that saffron originated in Iran,[9] Greece[10] or Mesopotamia.[9]
Habitat edit
This species is commonly found growing on limestone soil areas of the Attica Peninsula of Greece.
Cultivation edit
There is evidence that this plant was cultivated in ancient Crete at least as early as the Middle Minoan Period, as exhibited by a mural, the "Saffron Gatherer", illustrating the gathering of crocuses.[11][12] In the 19th century, wild Crocus cartwrightianus was harvested on Andros in the islands of the Cyclades, for medicinal purposes and the stigmas for making a pigment called Zafran.[13]
This plant,[14] has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
References edit
- ^ Jacobsen, Niels; Ørgaard, Marian (2004). "Crocus cartwrightianus on the Attica Peninsula" (PDF). ISHS Acta Horticulturae. 650 (6): 65–69. doi:10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.650.6. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
- ^ Feinbrun, Naomi (1957). "The Genus Crocus in Israel and Neighbouring Countries". Kew Bulletin. 12 (2): 269–285. Bibcode:1957KewBu..12..269F. doi:10.2307/4114421. ISSN 0075-5974. JSTOR 4114421.
- ^ Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. p. 224. ISBN 9781845337315.
- ^ M. Grilli Caiola - Saffron reproductive biology
- ^ Nemati, Zahra; Blattner, Frank R.; Kerndorff, Helmut; Erol, Osman; Harpke, Dörte (2018-10-01). "Phylogeny of the saffron-crocus species group, Crocus series Crocus (Iridaceae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 127: 891–897. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.06.036. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 29936028. S2CID 49409790.
- ^ Schmidt, Thomas; Heitkam, Tony; Liedtke, Susan; Schubert, Veit; Menzel, Gerhard (2019). "Adding color to a century-old enigma: multi-color chromosome identification unravels the autotriploid nature of saffron (Crocus sativus) as a hybrid of wild Crocus cartwrightianus cytotypes". New Phytologist. 222 (4): 1965–1980. doi:10.1111/nph.15715. ISSN 1469-8137. PMID 30690735.
- ^ Nemati, Zahra; Harpke, Dörte; Gemicioglu, Almila; Kerndorff, Helmut; Blattner, Frank R. (2019). "Saffron (Crocus sativus) is an autotriploid that evolved in Attica (Greece) from wild Crocus cartwrightianus". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 136: 14–20. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2019.03.022. PMID 30946897. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ a b Ghorbani, R.; Koocheki, A. (2017). "Sustainable Cultivation of Saffron in Iran". In Lichtfouse, Eric (ed.). Sustainable Agriculture Reviews (PDF). Springer. pp. 170–171. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-58679-3. ISBN 978-3-319-58679-3. S2CID 28214061.
- ^ Gresta, F.; Lombardo, G. M.; Siracusa, L.; Ruberto, G. (2008). "Saffron, an alternative crop for sustainable agricultural systems. A review". Agronomy for Sustainable Development. 28 (1): 95–112. doi:10.1051/agro:2007030. S2CID 44054590.
- ^ C.Michael Hogan, Knossos Fieldnotes, the Modern Antiquarian (2007)
- ^ Kazemi-Shahandashti, Seyyedeh-Sanam; Mann, Ludwig; El-nagish, Abdullah; Harpke, Dörte; Nemati, Zahra; Usadel, Björn; Heitkam, Tony (2022). "Ancient Artworks and Crocus Genetics Both Support Saffron's Origin in Early Greece". Frontiers in Plant Science. 13. doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.834416. PMC 8913524.
- ^ Maw, George (1886). A Monograph of the Genus Crocus. Soho Square, London: Dulau and Co. pp. 87, 164, 207, 250. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Crocus cartwrightianus". Retrieved 30 July 2020.
External links edit
Media related to Crocus cartwrightianus at Wikimedia Commons- "Crocus cartwrightianus". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
