Crocus January 2014

[Janis Ruksans]

It seem that on Sunday will start so long delayed frost and for all January are offered at least minus 10 but in February below minus 20. So I hurried to bring in some crocus pots to make pollination and pictures. And some nice surprises came out. 2 years ago I together with Kees Jan visited Chios Island (Greece, near Turkish border). I went there to search for brown-blackish coloured stigmas in C. fleischeri and black anthered C. pallasii. In both succeed but they were only individuals between more abundant plants of traditional colour. I was there when crocuses were out of flowers, so collected some specimens at each stop on Island. Here some pictures of stock KJGR-034 which surprised me by brown stigma but even more by grey connective on anthers.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

I like those forms with dark striped petal's backs - so different from usual commercial stocks. On continental Turkey I observed pure white specimens, but on Chios all samples at present bloomed only with flowers more or less striped purple.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

In my crocus book I wrote that under name are Crocus chrysanthus are hided several species, but I'm too old to start serious research on this as it will need a lot of travel and research not more easy in nowadays Turkey. But some acquisitions from previous years I have. Just recently was published Turkish research on this topic with some interesting details, but the general level of article is so bad, that I could place it in rubbish box and I'm surprised that serious scientific journal published this. But I want repeat that seems that some of those newly described specimens could be real taxa. Key is absolutely unusable.
But I decided to make deeper observations on my collection of Crocus chrysanthus. The first which started to bloom now is sample from Ossa in Greek Macedonia.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

the second was identified as the normal blue form of the same species when I collected it in 1997 near Feithye some 500 miles away but has probably been named as a new species by now

Of course it isn't pulchricolor but it is impossible to recognise by picture. Identifying of biflorus group is very difficult and personally I want to wait when Erich Pasche & Co will publish key for those crocuses as they promissed in last publication.
Regarding proposed "atrospermus" - I identified mine atrospermus stocks only by seed colour - it must be black. Some labels were returned to "biflorus species" status after seeing dark reddish brown or purplish colour of seeds.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Yesterday I wrote that there was publication about several new chrysanthus taxa described by Turkish botanists. Some years ago I travelled in Turkey together with some Turkish botanists looking for some very special crocuses. We visited N part of Uschak from where C. caelestis is described. We didn’t find it, but few days later it was found by other botanist just where we were – we were there few days too early. But everywhere was blooming C. chrysanthus and at one small spot (few sq. meters large) I collected some 5-6 corms of this beautiful species. Not with very special interest, but to have – wanted to compare with cultivar USCHAK ORANGE.
Now they started to bloom and I brought them inside to make some pictures on my working table and was quite surprised for great variability. Taking in account higher mentioned publication there were 3 (!) different taxa on few sq. meters. I really don’t know how to separate chrysanthus taxa without huge laboratory equipment... May be it is utopia. See 2 entries.

01 – bright yellow back of petals
02 – stipled back of petals
03 – bright red stigma, anthers pure yellow, throat purple
04 – the same 03
05 - the same 03 only flower opened

[Janis Ruksans]

The rest of C. chrysanthus pictures made today.
There will not be many pictures for today as I successfully fed my card-reader with good portion of coffee and it stopped to work. Fortunately computer and printer remained hungry and still are working. Tomorrow will buy new one card reader to download other pictures.

06-08 – stigma creamy, anthers with black beard, throat slightly purple shaded
09 – anthers and throat pure yellow, stigma red

[Maggi Young]

Janis - you should know by now coffee is only delicious to people!   

 What a fine plant hunter Ibrahim is - those are very  beautiful crocus.

[Janis Ruksans]

Here I'm attaching pictures of one of newcomers - just described Crocus babadagensis. I was growing it for many years as "white punctatus", but with additional note "species nova". It comes from type collection.
Janis

P.S. Thank you, Maggi, for advise. I only wanted the best for my friend. I so like coffee... but I will not try to feed it with wine because I'm afraid that my lavishness will not be assesed.

[Maggi Young]

I can get very nearly as much pleasure from seeing the photos of these crocus as I would seeing them in real life- especially in dull wet days like this.

 PS I am pleased you find my advice useful, Janis -  and now I will recommend that you only share your wine with Guna .....         See how helpful I can be!!! 

[Janis Ruksans]

I appreciate this, Maggi.

In this entry most likely the "most black" crocus seed by me at present - Crocus caricus quite recently described by Erich. This fantastic form was collected by Rik between C. nerimaniae and kindly presented to my following summer (we collected some corms long after blooming and Rik's specimen was the single caricus between nerimaniae. Later I was there in spring, but no one so "black"was seen.

Weather here is very dark. I'm bringing pots inside in warm room where flowers open and I'm making pictures under light of my reading lamp, when anthers open, I pollinate plants and bring them in cool room for 1-2 days and then back to greenhouse. Still left two warm days. After that will start frost and everything will be stopped. So many flowers still in greenhouse, but tomorrow I'm busy with social activities.

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus hartmannianus is extremely rare endemic from Cyprus. I got some corms under this name from famous Crocus lover, but all specimens were with yellow anthers although they must be blackish. Of course between species with black colour in anthers plain yellow anthers you can find in most populations, but I wanted typical plants. And last autumn I got a pair of corms which now blooms with me. I hardly hope that they will survive coming colds.

[ashley]

Fascinating to see these new taxa Janis, and so well photographed.
Your C. caricus clone is extraordinary, and the stippling C. babadagensis resemble C. alatavicus.
Thanks too for showing this variability in C. chrysanthus.  I have a form which doesn't fit the usual description so will compare it to these when it opens over the next few days.

[Maggi Young]

All are beautiful - but these C. caricus are spell-binding 
There is such variety in Crocus - a perfect genus to my eyes

[Luc Gilgemyn]

All are beautiful - but these C. caricus are spell-binding 
There is such variety in Crocus - a perfect genus to my eyes

Hear hear !!

[Janis Ruksans]

This one looks as C. caricus although was collected quite far from Labranda stock (showed earlier). I was searching for C. yataganensis, but without success. This was collected at short stop returning from crazy road up (at top I found only nice form of C. chrysanthus) in late evening on small roadside meadow between two summerhouses. I stopped at drinking fountain and using occasion, looked a little around... Weather was frosty, plants and soil was frozen and only now (when  they for the first time bloomed with me) was possible to name them as C. caricus.