crocus identification

[biodiversite]

Hi everybody
Please could you identify this crocus ? It is a botanical one received from Czech Republic some yeards ago as Crocus vallicola, which is not. An idea ? It is flowering now...

[Maggi Young]

Hello, "biodiversite", welcome to the forum. Have you a human name we can call you ?

[Thomas Huber]

Hello Biodiversite (do you have a real name, too?)!

It's not easy to identify from your photo alone, but you are completely right - it's not vallicola!

Could you please post a photo of the outer petals and - more important - one of the corm!
There are lots of blue Crocus in trade looking similar by flower but different by the corm!

[biodiversite]

well, in France on forums we only use pseudos as protection, but you could say only Bio, it's shorter  .

Here is the photo of the outer petals. For the corm, we have to wait to this summer...

In my collection the more similar is Crocus aerius, but which flowers in March only (to give you an idea, in my garden, it's the end of C. imperati and the beginning of C. vitellinus, graveolens and chrysanthus).

[Thomas Huber]

Still not easy, Bio!

From flower shape and colour I would say it's Crocus vernus, but the leaves don't fit
with the plants I have. Generally C. vernus has very broad leaves.

Maybe it's a very dark form of C. versicolor or maybe veluchensis - sorry, seems like
I can't help you! Maybe Tony or someone else has an idea?

In which part of France do you live?

[Maggi Young]

BIO wrote:well, in France on forums we only use pseudos as protection, but you could say only Bio, it's shorter 

Forgive my question, when you may hide you email address if you wish,is that not protection? Why would you want also to hide your name?

[biodiversite]

From flower shape and colour I would say it's Crocus vernus, but the leaves don't fit
with the plants I have. Generally C. vernus has very broad leaves.

Nevertheless, it's true hat on the Alpinehouse site, it's seems that leaves could be not so wide : I'll see when they will more develop

Maybe it's a very dark form of C. versicolor or maybe veluchensis - sorry, seems like
I can't help you! Maybe Tony or someone else has an idea?

the red style and the ledge outer strips could give C. versicolor, maybe...

In which part of France do you live?

South east in the Alps, near Grenoble.

[biodiversite]

Forgive my question, when you may hide you email address if you wish,is that not protection? Why would you want also to hide your name?

Well, France is the land all over the world where there is the maximum of different family name, numerous for only a very little number of persons. That leads to the fact that it is very easy to localise a person with a rare name... And if I love bulbs, I love turtles too, that they have a very important value  .

[Maggi Young]

No one would wish to compromise your security , "Bio" and you give reason for a valid concern. You will forgive us if we prefer to address Pierre or Chantal rather than Bio !

[biodiversite]

thanks. Sorry for my english, I wanted to say tortoises and not turtles   

[Maggi Young]

No problem , I think we all understood.  Fascinating creatures, I was lucky enough to keep lots when I was small in North Africa. My Father's men used to bring them for me from places where they ( the Tortoises) had become stuck or unsafe, and we had a big, protected garden where they could live and grow strong. A good way to learn more about them and fun, too. It saddens me that so many are still brought to this (UK) and other countries still for the pet trade and die in the process. Some people are breeding them successfully in captivity, of course, so some are available quite legally here.

[biodiversite]

in France too. I'm legalized for the tortoise breeding.

For North Africa, see the Romulea section Identification, it comes from an area where there is still wild tortoises, but Morocco suffers from his increase of population, and plants and tortoises will be victims of this process 

[tonyg]

Welcome Bio - You have a very beautiful crocus!  I think the corm tunic that Thomas asks about will be papery but we will have to wait for this.  Although the flower is similar to some Crocus vernus I do not think your plant is this.  In some ways it reminds me of some forms of Crocus biflorus but the lack of a yellow throat suggests some other taxon or perhaps a hybrid.  More photos please, when the flower is wide open.

I like your pictures on the 'plantes' forum, some very nice iris you grow

[biodiversite]

Welcome Bio - You have a very beautiful crocus!  I think the corm tunic that Thomas asks about will be papery but we will have to wait for this.  Although the flower is similar to some Crocus vernus I do not think your plant is this.  In some ways it reminds me of some forms of Crocus biflorus but the lack of a yellow throat suggests some other taxon or perhaps a hybrid.  More photos please, when the flower is wide open.

If the sunday is sunny, you'll have new photos next week !

I like your pictures on the 'plantes' forum, some very nice iris you grow

Thanks. Actually irises of the group reticulata don't have any problem to flower in my garden. I hope I'll have a lot of Iris histrio wild strain seeds to swap this summer. I'll show you the bestest reticulatas forms, as 'Kuh-e-Abr' or Iris pamphylica 

[Thomas Huber]

Bio, I've seen these plants last year in the Alpes Maritimes.
The photo shows, that the young leaves are folded and
become wider when getting older....

Crocus vernus ssp albiflorus