Crocuses
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The crocuses ( Crocus ; singular in general "the crocus", in Switzerland also "the crocus"; plural crocuses) are a genus of the Iris family (Iridaceae). The approximately 235 crocus species (as of January 2017) are mainly found in the Orient , but also in Europe, North Africa and as far as western China. They have been popular ornamental plants for centuries. As early bloomers , they can be found in the parks and gardens of temperate latitudes around the world. Some species already bloom in autumn and produce fruits in the following spring.
An economically important species of crocus is saffron ( Crocus sativus ), from whose Greek name krókos (κρόκος) the Latin-German word crocus comes. The biblical rose of Sharon could be a crocus. Targeted crossings of different species have resulted in a large number of varieties and crocus hybrids which vary greatly in color, flowering time and duration. Occasionally crocuses can be confused with species of the genera of the timeless family Colchicum or false crocuses , which are similar in habitus and whose distribution area overlaps in the Mediterranean.
Description and ecology
Vegetative characteristics
Crocuses are perennial herbaceous plants . These semi-hardy to hardy geophytes form the tubers as persistent organs. The few (mostly about six) basal leaves are simple and have parallel veins; they almost always have a whitish median nerve. The leaf margin is smooth.
Generative characteristics
The flowers stand individually or in groups in a stalkless inflorescence with bracts . The flowers that appear in spring or autumn vary widely in color, but purple, light purple, yellow, and white are predominant. The hermaphrodite flowers are radial symmetry and threefold. The röhrig overgrown bloom stand in two circles; either they are all equal or those of the inner circle are smaller. There is only one circle with three stamens . The short stamens are fused with the flower tube. The anthers are yellow, white or almost black. Three carpels form an ovary located in the ground. The stylus consists of three or more stylus branches.
Only after fertilization does the fruit push itself out of the ground. Triple capsule fruits are formed that contain many seeds.
Crocus species that bloom in autumn, whose capsule fruits do not appear until the following spring, can be confused with autumn crocus and other species from the genus Colchicum , which have six stamens rather than three. The genus of the false crocuses is similar to the crocuses and occurs in the Mediterranean area, among others. Some species are known as autumn crocuses. They bloom from late summer to autumn. Often the flowers appear long before the leaves. Some autumn flowering species are:
- Crocus banaticus (Syn .: Crocus iridiflorus )
- Crocus hadriaticus
- Crocus kotschyanus (Syn .: Crocus zonatus )
- Crocus ochroleucus
- Crocus sativus ( saffron )
ecology
The pollination is done by insects.
Occurrence
The distribution area of the Crocus species extends from southwest, central and southern Europe, North Africa, Southeast Europe, Asia Minor and further over Central Asia to western China. The distribution limits are around 10 ° W - 80 ° E longitude and 30 ° N - 50 ° N latitude. The majority of the species occurs in the Balkans and Asia Minor. The area is characterized by cold, damp winters and warm summers with little rainfall. The growing season of the crocuses is from autumn to late spring. In the dry summers, the tuber survives in the ground. With the onset of wetter weather in autumn, some species already begin to sprout flowers or leaves. The flowering time of the majority of crocuses begins at the end of winter. Some species produce leaves and flowers at the same time, while others produce leaves for up to several months after flowering.
Systematics and types
Systematics according to Mathew
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The genus of almost 100 species before 2000 was subdivided on the basis of morphological characteristics. Mathew (1982) divided the genus Crocus into two sub-genera. The subgenus Crocus has outwardly directed stamens (extrorse anthera), the subgenus Crociris, however, inwardly directed stamens (introrse anthera). The subgenus Crociris was created to include the species Crocus banaticus in the system. The subgenus Crocus is divided into two sections, the Crocus section and the Nudiscapus section. These in turn split into six or nine series. The morphological criteria are:
- Presence or absence of a preceding sheet (prophyll), see also a flower diagram or a supporting sheet
- Structure of the tuber, especially the outer shell
- Leaf structure
- Presence or absence of a cover sheet (bracts)
- Division of the stylus
- Color of the stamens
- Heyday
The following list contains the 80 species known in 1982 and the 11 species that have been rewritten since then (marked with *): A list of the 241 recognized species can also be found in R. Govaerts (as of 2018) in accordance with the monograph by Rukšāns 2017 (235 species there).
Morphological systematics
- Subgenus Crocus
- Section Crocus : Species with a basal cover leaf (prophyll)
- Verni
B.Mathew series : Tubers with reticulate fibers, spring bloomers (except for Crocus longiflorus ), flowers mostly without noticeable stripes, missing bracts
- Spring crocus ( Crocus vernus ), Elven crocus ( Crocus tommasinianus ), Tuscan crocus ( Crocus etruscus ), Crocus kosaninii , Crocus baytopiorum , Crocus ilvensis * (Peruzzi & Carta, 2011)
- Scardici B.Mathew series : spring bloomers , leaves without stripes on top
- Versicolores B.Mathew series : spring bloomer , tuber with mostly parallel fibers, flowers with striking outer stripes
- Silver lacquer crocus ( Crocus versicolor ), Crocus malyi , Imperato crocus ( Crocus imperati ), Smallest crocus ( Crocus minimus ), Corsican crocus ( Crocus corsicus ), Crocus cambessedesii
- Longiflori B.Mathew series : autumn flowering, yellow stamens, stylus divided several times
- Scented autumn crocus ( Crocus longiflorus ), Pyrenees autumn crocus ( Crocus nudiflorus ), Spanish autumn crocus ( Crocus serotinus ), Crocus niveus , Crocus goulimyi , Crocus ligusticus ** ( syn.Crocus medius hort. Non Balbis) ( Mariotti, 1988)
- Kotschyani B.Mathew series : autumn flowering, stamens white, style usually divided into three parts
- Ring autumn crocus ( Crocus kotschyanus ), Crocus scharojanii , Crocus vallicola , Crocus autranii , Crocus karduchorum , Crocus gilanicus , Crocus ochroleucus
- Crocus series : autumn blooming, stamens yellow, style clearly in three parts
- Crocus sativus , Crocus pallasii , Crocus thomasii , Crocus cartwrightianus , Crocus moabiticus , Crocus oreocreticus , Crocus asumaniae , Crocus hadriaticus , Crocus mathewii * (Kerndorff & Pasche, 1994), Crocus naqabensis * (Al-Eisawi, 2001)
- Verni
B.Mathew series : Tubers with reticulate fibers, spring bloomers (except for Crocus longiflorus ), flowers mostly without noticeable stripes, missing bracts
- Section Nudiscapus B.Mathew : Species without a basal cover leaf (prophyll)
- Series Reticulati B.Mathew : tubers mostly clearly covered with reticulate fibers, flowers in winter or spring, style three or more divided
- Mesh crocus ( Crocus reticulatus ), Crocus veluchensis , Crocus cvijicii , Crocus dalmaticus , Crocus sieberi , Crocus robertianus , Mesh autumn crocus ( Crocus cancellatus ), Crocus hermoneus , Crocus abantensis , gold brocade crocus ( Crocus angustifolius ), Ankara crocus ( Crocus ancyrensis ), Crocus gargaricus , Crocus sieheanus , Crocus rujanensis * (Randjelović & al., 1990), Crocus herbertii * (B.Matthew, 2009), Crocus jablanicensis * (N.Randj. & V. Randj, 2012)
- Biflori B.Mathew series : The outer shell of the tuber breaks down into rings on the underside, either completely or with jagged sections, leather-like texture, flowers in spring or late winter, style three-fold
- Two-flowered crocus ( Crocus biflorus ), small crocus ( Crocus chrysanthus ), Crocus almehensis , Crocus danfordiae , Crocus pestalozzae , Crocus aerius , Crocus cyprius , Crocus hartmannianus , Crocus adanensis , Crocus Leichtlinii , Crocus caspius , Crocus kerndorffiorum , 1993 Crocus wattiorum * (Mathew, 1995; 2000), Crocus nerimaniae * (Yüzbasioglu & Varol, 2004), Crocus demirizianus * (O. Erol & L. Can, 2012)
- Orientales B.Mathew series : tuber with parallel fibers or slightly reticulate, numerous leaves, flowers in spring, style divided into three parts
- Flavi series : shell of the tuber film-like, disintegrates into parallel fibers, flowers in spring, style strongly divided
- Gold crocus ( Crocus flavus ), Crocus antalyensis , Olivier crocus ( Crocus olivieri ), Crocus candidus , Crocus vitellinus , Crocus graveolens , Crocus hyemalis , Crocus paschei * (Kerndorff, 1993)
- Aleppici B.Mathew series : shell of the tuber film-like, divided, parallel fibers, leaves appear with the flowers, blooms in autumn or winter
- Carpetani B.Mathew series : leaf underside round with grooves, upper side channel-shaped, spring bloomers, style whitish, clearly divided
- Intertexti B.Mathew series : The shell of the tuber is fibrously interwoven with fibers, blooms in spring
- Taurus crocus ( Crocus fleischeri )
- Speciosi B.Mathew series : The shell of the tuber breaks down into rings on the underside, it has a leather-like or foil-like texture, leaves appear after flowering, blooms in autumn, style strongly divided
- Splendor autumn crocus ( Crocus speciosus ), rose autumn crocus ( Crocus pulchellus )
- Laevigati B.Mathew series : shell of the tuber film-like, divided into parallel fibers, sometimes leather-like, leaves appear with the flowers, autumn flowering, stamens white, style divided
- Smooth crocus ( Crocus laevigatus ), Crocus boryi , Crocus tournefortii
- Series Reticulati B.Mathew : tubers mostly clearly covered with reticulate fibers, flowers in winter or spring, style three or more divided
- Section Crocus : Species with a basal cover leaf (prophyll)
- Subgenus Crociris B.Mathew
- Transylvanian autumn crocus ( Crocus banaticus )
Phylogenetic systematics
A phylogenetic analysis of the genus Crocus published in 2008 resulted in the cladogram below. The affiliation of the individual species to the series by Mathew, which were defined on the basis of morphological criteria, is also recorded. With a few exceptions, the phylogenetically and morphologically determined relationships agree. The species Crocus banaticus loses its special position as an independent subgenus in this system.
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Were examined five regions of the plastid - DNA : The three genes encoding proteins ndhF, accD and rpoC1 and the two non-coding sections trnH psbA and rpl36-RPS8. 86 of the 88 Crocus species and 50 subspecies were included in the analysis , plus Babiana stricta , Tigrida pavonia , Syringodea bifucata , Romulea tempskyana and Romulea ramiflora as the outer group.
use
Crocuses are among the first flowers in spring. Their flowering time begins in late winter ( Crocus tommasinianus ), where they appear even in the last snow in long winters. A few weeks later, the large-flowered varieties bloom. About 30 crocus species are in culture. The best known is probably the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) for the production of saffron. Five main types are cultivated as ornamental plants: Crocus vernus , Crocus chrysanthus , Crocus flavus , Crocus sieberi and Crocus tommasinianus .
Most crocus species should be planted in sunny or partially shaded spots in sandy, well drained soil. However, some species also prefer shady and moist places. Some of them are suitable for naturalization in meadows ( Crocus tommasinianus ). Under certain circumstances, they can become "weeds" in rock gardens.
Crocus as an astronym
The asteroid (1220) Crocus is named after the genus.
gallery
Some crocus species are sorted by flower color and in alphabetical order of scientific names. Here the color and the flowering time H - autumn flowering, F - spring (winter flowering) is not always clearly indicated.
Flower color white
Crocus aleppicus (H)
Crocus biflorus (F)
Crocus candidus (F)
Crocus caspius (F)
Crocus hyemalis (F)
Crocus malyi (F)
Crocus mathewii (H)
Crocus niveus (H)
Crocus vallicola (H)
Flower color purple - blue
Crocus autranii (H)
Crocus banaticus (H)
Crocus corsicus (F)
Crocus etruscus (F)
Crocus goulimyi (H)
Crocus imperati (F)
Crocus kosaninii (F)
Crocus minimus (F)
Crocus pallasii (H)
Crocus paschei (F)
Crocus sativus (H)
Crocus serotinus (H)
Crocus sieberi (F)
Crocus speciosus (H)
Crocus vernus (F)
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Flower color yellow
Crocus flavus (F)
Crocus olivieri (F)
Crocus scardicus (F)
Crocus seheanus (F)
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literature
- SI Ali, Brian Mathew: Crocus. In: Flora of Pakistan , Volume 202 ( online )
- Jānis Rukšāns: The World of Crocuses. The Latvian Academy of Sciences, January 2017, ISBN 9789934191251 , 568 pages.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Jānis Rukšāns: The World of Crocuses. The Latvian Academy of Sciences, January 2017, ISBN 9789934191251 , 568 pages.
- ↑ Hjalmar Frisk : Greek etymological dictionary. 3 volumes, Heidelberg 1960–1972, Volume I, p. 23
- ^ Brian Mathew: Crocus: A Revision of the Genus Crocus. Timber Press, 1983, ISBN 0-917304-23-3 .
- ↑ a b c Gitte Petersen, Ole Seberg, Sarah Thorsøe, Tina Jørgensen, Brian Mathew: A phylogeny of the genus Crocus (Iridaceae) based on sequence data from five plastid regions. In: Taxon , Volume 57, Issue 2, May 2008, pages 487-499.
- ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Crocus. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ↑ Lorenzo Peruzzi, Angelino Carta, Crocus ilvensis sp. nov. (sect.Crocus, Iridaceae), endemic to Elba Island (Tuscan Archipelago, Italy). In: Nordic Journal of Botany , Volume 29, 2011, pp. 6-13.
- ↑ Osman Erol, Levent Can, Levent Şık: Crocus demirizianus sp. nov. from northwestern Turkey. In: Nordic Journal of Botany , Volume 30, Issue 6, December 2012, pages 665-667 doi: 10.1111 / j.1756-1051.2012.01684.x
further reading
- Jānis Rukšāns: Crocuses. A complete guide to the genus. Timber Press, Portland, London, 2010 1-216.
- Brian Mathew, G. Petersen, O. Seberg: A reassessment of Crocus based on molecular analysis. In: The Plantsman, Volume 8, Issue 1, 2009, pp. 50-57.
