Crocus sieberi, Sieber's crocus,[2][3] also referred to as the Cretan crocus or snow crocus (as is Crocus chrysanthus), is a plant of the genus Crocus in the family Iridaceae. A small, early blooming crocus, it easily naturalises, and is marked by a brilliant orange which is mostly confined to the stamens and style, fading through the bottom third of the tepal. It grows wild generally in the Balkans: Greece, especially in the island of Crete, Bulgaria, Albania and North Macedonia. There are four subtypes: sieberi (Crete), atticus (Attica area around Athens), nivalis and sublimis. Its cultivars are used as ornamental plants. Height: 3–4 inches (7.6–10.2 cm).
| Crocus sieberi | |
|---|---|
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| Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis 'Tricolor' | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Iridaceae |
| Genus: | Crocus |
| Species: | C. sieberi
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| Binomial name | |
| Crocus sieberi | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Subspecies edit
There are four subspecies of C. sieberi.[1]
- Crocus sieberi subsp. sieberi - Native to Crete: flowering in April. The white flowers with yellow throats stand up to 8 cm, the outer surfaces of the flowers are marked with varying degrees of purple. The branched styles are deep orange or yellow.[1]
- Crocus sieberi subsp. atticus - Native to the Attica region of Greece, it has lilac-blue or violet flowers with yellow throats. The corm tunics are more coarsely netted than the other subspecies.[1] It is found growing in stony areas in the mountains and in woods and scrub areas usually above 1000 meters, with flowering occurring from March to June.[4]
- Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis - Native to the Peloponnese, southern Albania, North Macedonia, and also found in southern Bulgaria, has pale lilac flowers with pale yellow throats.[1]
- Crocus sieberi subsp. nivalis - Native to the Peloponnese with lilac-blue flowers that have yellow throats.[1]
Uses edit
Crocus sieberi is cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant for its flowers. It has also been used as food; in Greece the corms are eaten raw - with the flavor said to resemble hazelnuts. In Turkey, the leaves are eaten as greens.[1]
Cultivars edit
Examples:
- 'Bowles's White'agm[5] (white with orange centre)
- 'Firefly' (lilac)
- 'Hubert Edelsten'agm[6] is a cross between Crocus sieberi subsp. sieberi and Crocus sieberi subsp. atticus.[7] (outside deep purple with broad white bands, inside pale lilac with orange center)
- 'Ronald Ginns' (pale pink to white petals with dark purple feathering on the outside and a yellow throat)
- 'Tricolor'agm[8] (gold centre, middle white band, outer rich lilac-blue edge)
- 'Violet Queen' (deep amethyst-violet flowers, paler within, with a rich, golden centre)
- Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis forma tricolor burtt. - from Mt. Chelmos in the northern Peloponnese.[7] Plants are more variable than the cultivar 'Tricolor', with bright lilac flowers that have bright orange throats and a white band.[9]
The cultivars marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
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Crocus sieberi subsp. atticus 'Bowles White' -
Crocus sieberi corms
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g "Crocus sieberi J.Gay | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Crocus sieberi". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- ^ Phillips, Roger (1989). The Random House book of bulbs. Martyn Rix, Brian Mathew. New York: Random House. p. 19. ISBN 0-679-72756-6. OCLC 19922564.
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Crocus sieberi 'Bowles's White'". Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Crocus sieberi 'Hubert Edelsten'". Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ a b Phillips 1989, p. 25.
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis 'Tricolor'". Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ Ruksans, Janis (2011-01-12). Crocuses: A Complete Guide to the Genus. Timber Press. ISBN 978-1-60469-106-1.
External links edit
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