Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Crocus => Topic started by: Janis Ruksans on December 05, 2014, 07:50:30 AM
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There are few new crocus species and some oldies returning in just recently published large collective work of scientists from several countries. The subject of research was Crocus reticulatus sensu lato. It was not great surprise due huge area from where Crocus reticulatus s.l. was known - from SE Turkey through Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Balkans to Italy.
As with many “oldies” - it is not easy to find what just must be regarded as typical species. The same is with Crocus reticulatus, too. As type locality is mentioned “near Caucasus” what is very wide concept. There were compared DNA of many gatherings throughout area and was found that samples from Georgia, Stavropol and Bessarabia (Moldavia) all belongs to same genotype and as they are growing along Caucasus + disjunct locality in Bessarabia - those are regarded as type Crocus reticulatus.
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There was gathering from surroundings of Mariupol in Azov steppe by my friend Dima Zubov - region not easy to reach now due activities of terrorist gangs supported by Russia. Fortunately Dima sent me good stock of it. Surprisingly again but this one turned identical to sample collected by HKEP in Danube valley in Serbia. Just the last one was selected as type for new species Crocus danubensis. Again it is sample of disjunct area.
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Plants from Italy, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Hungary got back their old name Crocus variegatus. Slovenian sample was collected by my friend Izidor Golob from Šentilj
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Since 1983 when Brian Mathew published his survey of Greek crocuses some new species were discovered in Greece and one of them growing in Macedonia was identified as Crocus reticulatus. Now DNA checking confirmed that it is new, different species and got new name Crocus orphei.
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Other novelties come from Turkish region. Of course there was confirmed independent status of Crocus hittiticus (still it is possible that under this name are hided two different crocuses).
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Completely new is Crocus filis-maculatis with black spotted filaments. I never found it in wild. Region from where it comes I usually visited late in season when crocus leaves were died or grazed off, so only very occasional specimens from area were collected and between those were no one of this new crocus. But during one of my first trips to Turkey (BATM trip) we collected few corms of crocus with reticulated tunic which we registered as C. cancellatus (BATM-402) but later turned that there are 2 species under this number and the other now got back its very old name given by Boissier in 1859 - Crocus micranthus. Later it was placed as var. micranthus of C. variegatus by G. Maw, but now it got back its old name. Another gathering of this species I got from my Czech friend and I grew it for long as “C. hittiticus with yellow anthers” because it was collected in area from where usually C. hittiticus comes.
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Janis, these notes on recent re-identification and re-defining of some Crocus species are most interesting and I have made a new thread for these posts.
I think the paper Janis refers to is this one :
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266897153_Phylogeny_geographic_distribution_and_new_taxonomic_circumscription_of_the_Crocus_reticulatus_species_group_%28Iridaceae (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266897153_Phylogeny_geographic_distribution_and_new_taxonomic_circumscription_of_the_Crocus_reticulatus_species_group_%28Iridaceae)
Phylogeny, geographic distribution and new taxonomic circumscription of the Crocus reticulatus species group (Iridaceae)
Doerte Harpke; Lorenzo Peruzzi; Helmut Kerndorff; Theofanis Karamplianis; Theofanis Constantinidis;
Vladimir Randelovic; Novica Randelovic; Marina Juskovic; Erich Pasche; Frank R. Blattner
Turkish Journal of Botany. 09/2014; DOI: 10.3906/bot-1405-60
ABSTRACT
Recent phylogenetic analyses proved several infrageneric units within the genus Crocus to be para- or polyphyletic. In an attempt to arrive at a system of Crocus that closely reflects species relationships, we provide here phylogenetic, morphometric, geographic and nomenclatorial data for the species of a narrower defined, monophyletic Crocus series Reticulati. We sequenced the ETS and ITS regions of the nuclear ribosomal DNA in 9 Reticulati and 19 outgroup species. Three chloroplast loci (trnL–F, rps16–trnQ, matK–trnK) were sequenced in the newly defined series Reticulati species and 1 outgroup. Data were analyzed with Bayesian and parsimony algorithms. The phylogenies resulted in two clearly separated, geographically defined species groups within series Reticulati. The southern one comprising only the taxa from Turkey, while the species of the second group are distributed from Italy in the west through the areas north of the Black Sea to the Caucasus in the east. To arrive at monophyletic species we describe here C. danubensis sp. nov., C. filis-maculatis sp. nov., and C. orphei sp. nov. as new species, and define C. reticulatus s.s. to comprise only the populations in the area north and east of the Black Sea.
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What a great advantage to keep informed trough the forum !
Thanks Janis and Maggi ! :)
Hopefully this result later on in an other article for the IRG.
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Janis , great photos of yours as always . Thank you for sharing the news with us of the newly described and reclassified species . It will most likely take another life time (or two ) till all species are discovered .
and thanks Maggi for drawing our attention to the taxonomic paper link . It was Doerte Harpke at Gattersleben who did the DNA studies on the Herbarium specimen I provided from my garden .
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Again new crocus must be added to crocus list. It seem that soon number of species will reach 300...
This one described and published a couple of days ago by Osman Erol & al from Istanbul university. It is growing wild in area of C. isauricus sensu lato.
Pictures added here are not mine, but scans from original publication and their author is Osman Erol.
Crocus yaseminiae is published in Phytotaxa 188 (2): 103-111
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Abstract and link to that paper on Crocus yaseminiae here :
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10308.msg319078#msg319078 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10308.msg319078#msg319078)
also a note in the updated list of Crocus papers :
The pdf of CROCUS PUBLICATIONS and new species on the Crocus Pages has been updated
http://www.srgc.org.uk/genera/index.php?log=crocus (http://www.srgc.org.uk/genera/index.php?log=crocus)
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Today got interestibg article from our forumist Ibrahim. It was published in Phytol. Balcan. 20(1): 123-125 by Kit Tan et al. There is described new subsp. of Crocus flavus named as subsp. atticus. Personally don't like such name as it is same as in C. atticus (or sieberi subsp. atticus). Separable by more divided stigma. Here I'm attaching scan from original picture showing stigmatic branching separating it from typical flavus.
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I agree this seems an odd choice of name - confusion will arise from the similarity to sieberi atticus - a strange decision.
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If anyone is seeking information of the many new Crocus names that are appearing (which you may have learned of here or through the "CROCUS PUBLICATIONS and new species (http://www.srgc.org.uk/genera/logdir/2014Dec121418386235Crocus_papers_new_species.pdf)" listing on the Crocus Pages and you are unable to find individual species pages in Crocus Pages (http://www.srgc.org.uk/genera/index.php?log=crocus), may I suggest you consult İbrahim Sözen's excellent site : http://crocusmania.blogspot.co.uk/ (http://crocusmania.blogspot.co.uk/) where you will find full photos of many species- old and new 8)
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Thanks a lot Janis and Maggi! Just got into Crocus recently, and your discussion and resources (and photographs Janis) are most useful!
Regards
Corrado
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Excellent present for New Year came from from famous duet HKEP. Just recently in Stapfia 101 is published new article in which is defined new series - Isauri with type species Crocus isauricus. Most important that finally is defined what really is C. isauricus. Under that name many different species earlier were included. In new article two new species described - Crocus rechingeri and C. concinnus and for the first time published key for separating of crocuses from Series Isauri. For me greatest surprise was including of very distant C. tauricus in series Isauri and finding that it is the closest relative of C. abracteolus from Central S Turkey. Phylogenetically both are the closest neighbours forming pair. For me morphologically (flowers, corm tunics) it looked as more close to species from W Turkey, but as C. abracteolus it hasn't bracteole or in C. tauricus it is present only occasionally. Really the steps of nature are unpredictable.
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Excellent present for New Year came from from famous duet HKEP. Just recently in Stapfia 101 is published new article in which is defined new series - Isauri with type species Crocus isauricus. Most important that finally is defined what really is C. isauricus. Under that name many different species earlier were included. In new article two new species described - Crocus rechingeri and C. concinnus and for the first time published key for separating of crocuses from Series Isauri. For me greatest surprise was including of very distant C. tauricus in series Isauri and finding that it is the closest relative of C. abracteolus from Central S Turkey. Phylogenetically both are the closest neighbours forming pair. For me morphologically (flowers, corm tunics) it looked as more close to species from W Turkey, but as C. abracteolus it hasn't bracteole or in C. tauricus it is present only occasionally. Really the steps of nature are unpredictable.
Dear Janis,
Thanks a lot very interesting! Could you please share the article, e.g. a link to the article?
Regards
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http://www.landesmuseum.at/biophp/pdf_verk_de/chart_pdf.php?action=add&artikel=220920 (http://www.landesmuseum.at/biophp/pdf_verk_de/chart_pdf.php?action=add&artikel=220920)
And at 1,6 Euro affordable!
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This is the link to the list of Stapfia issues available :
http://www.landesmuseum.at/datenbanken/digilit/?serienr=1 (http://www.landesmuseum.at/datenbanken/digilit/?serienr=1) and here are all the articles available from Stapfia 101 http://www.landesmuseum.at/datenbanken/digilit/?litnr=41665 (http://www.landesmuseum.at/datenbanken/digilit/?litnr=41665)
I'm having a bit of trouble getting a payment to go through at the moment. Will try again - normally it is no problem.
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Thanks for sharing with us these informations.
Janis fantastic photos.
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I just received a wonderful news for crocus amorous. :)
Three new species from Iran by Janis Ruksans! Excellent trio. Quite different from the other known species by geographically and morphological.
I really congratulate him because of his effort behind of this great affair.
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Here are few photos by my limited informations on.
Crocus gunae from NE. Iran
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The another beauty is from SW Iran
Crocus iranicus
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The another new one is C. reinhardii
Best Wishes...
ibrahim
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"You crocus people pull out one new species after another out of your pockets - it is unbelievable. Resembles magician who in circus brings out one rabbit after another from his hat”
- citation from private letter.
Just few days ago I got new publication of Turkish botanists about new Crocus taxon - Crocus thracicus. It was mailed to me by Ibrahim and I waited that he will inform crocus lovers about this new species, but as he keeps silence - I decided to do this. This crocus was originally found by Ibrahim not very far from his summer house. He sent me two corms of it asking my opinion. Really it something confused me. Was not easy decide - is it really new or not. By black ends of anthers basal lobes it something resembled some albino forms of C. chrysanthus and both species in some localities meet. (Picture of occasioinal hybrid is ilustrated in paper.) But absence of ribs in leaf lateral channels pushed out idea that it could be chrysanthus.
Another alternative was C. alexandri - and really by flower both looks very similar. In original description is mentioned that alexandri has white edge around purplish back of flowers outer segments, but such is just cultivated form of 'Alexandri' - in wild really it is not expressed and I saw only very few individuals with such colour. Most are of almost same colour as new C. thracicus. Then remain only black spots at basal lobes of anthers. Is it sufficient? There are some differences how looks seeds of both species, but I didn't compared them. I will do this in coming summer. Another difference is altitude where both crocuses grow. C. alexandri is growing at much higher altitudes than C. thracicus. As Ibrahim informed me that Turkish botanists are working on its publication I stopped my research on it to avoid duplication.
There is interesting crocus in Greek Thracia found by Norman Stevens (Cambridge Bulbs) which he characterised as something intermediate between weldenii and alexandri. According data given by Norman Stevens the Greek plant strongly resembles new species. I didn't succeed to found it - there suddenly felt snow in Greek mountains when I went to search for it (I haven't exact locality).
So I suppose that this is one of those cases where final decision can be done only by comparing of DNA of both crocuses. If it will confirm that they are different - colour type of anthers, seed morphology and growing altitude could be used for separating. If not - then it will extend variability and distribution area of C. alexandri. Hope to get reply from geneticists this summer.
Pictures are made in my collection, distribution map modified from original paper - PHYTOTAXA 197 3:207-214
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Paper referred to by Janis in the previous post is :
Crocus thracicus (Iridaceae), a new species from north-western Turkey
Sırrı Yüzbaşıoğlu
Serdar Aslan
Neriman Özhatay
Phytotaxa (Impact Factor: 1.38). 02/2015; 197(3):207-214.
ABSTRACT Crocus thracicus is described as a new species from Thrace, the European part of Turkey. The white form of this species was wrongly referred to an albino form of C. chrysanthus by Mathew in the Flora of Turkey. It grows in open stony places and in sparse Quercus sp. and Paliurus spina-christi clearings at elevations between 45–170 m. It is compared with the morphologically similar C. alexandri and C. weldenii. A description, detailed illustrations, photograps of metaphase plate, karyotype and idiogram of new species are presented.
Crocus thracicus (Iridaceae), a new species from north-western Turkey. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272356214_Crocus_thracicus_%28Iridaceae%29_a_new_species_from_north-western_Turkey (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272356214_Crocus_thracicus_%28Iridaceae%29_a_new_species_from_north-western_Turkey) [accessed Mar 22, 2015].
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Will there be Crocuses edition 2?
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I wonder that myself, Diane - but if there isn't then we're doing our best with this forum section, the Crocus Pages on the main site , Janis' posts and IRG articles and an attempt to keep a list of new articles and papers from elsewhere up to date and not forgetting the fine site of İbrahim Sözen - to have as complete a Crocus resource as possible that is open to all via the net . :)
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Will there be Crocuses edition 2?
I'm working on it, but it is not easy. When I wrote my first book I had in my collection all known but 3-5 crocus species not growable in my conditions. Now there are so many new ones described. Many I have but not all and many still are hided under aquisition numbers. Identification takes a lot of time but crocus blooming seazon is too short. Still I will need 1-2 winters to finish. Hope that retairement from nursery (now guided by my step daughter Līga and may be founding of branch under my daugters Dace guidence) will give me more free time. It certainly will be completely diferent from the first one book.
Janis
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Janis,
The C. tracicus has been compared with Original descriptions from Serbian flora not with Greek plant or cultivated C. alexandri. On all these descriptions and photos this white edged has been used. But this wasn’t single different between. C. alexandri has 1.5-2.5mm. and C. tracicus only 0.75-1.3mm. wide leaves, the size and shape of flowers were not same (C. alexandri has big and oblong flowers) and of course there are no speckled forms in C. alexandri while C. tracicus mostly faintly speckled. For me so they are strongly separated between.
ibrahim
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In the story of C. tracicus, when I found first location of this crocus. They were almost all speckled and only some specimen white. This time I thought it is C. alexandri.
Than if it was C. alexandri I had to find dark bluish-violet forms but even very long research I couldn’t find even single dark plant. But this time I found another population with much more pale forms almost all were white (very rarely seen just few speckled forms too). There were also C. chrysanthus in this location around half and half.
Than I remember B. Mathew’s theory with high numbers of albino. I tried to find another location. The answer was just 6 km out of this mixed population. In this location there were only C. chrysanthus even not a single albino. This was very surprised for me one side half of population albinos and another side no albinos at all just 6km. between. So Mathew’s theory was out.
Another very interesting observation was made in field by my fried. when he smelled flowers. We saw that whites were scented and C. chrysanthus were not scented! So we decided that they were not same species.
Than we start to find hybrid samples between. So Sırrı has hardy found one hybrid which is showen in article from quite another different mixed population which I have not visited. But I still think C. tracicus and C. chrysanthus (which occurring in this area) are very conservative to make hybrid. Because till now I couldn’t find any speckled C. chrysanthus in these mixed populations while C. tracicus is mostly speckled.
With my best wishes to all crocus lovers…
ibrahim
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Ibrahim,
I didn't put under doubt validity of C. thracicus, I only noted problems with separation of it. In original paper are mentioned that alexandri leaves are up to 2.5 mm wide without minimum value. About variability in flower colour you can judge by attached pictures of alexandri from nature - full spectrum including nicely speckled but no one with white rim and I saw hundreds and hundreds of flowers.
I never liked overlapping of dimensions in separating of species, although I sometimes noted that in my species, too.
In any case at present the single permanent feature is blackish tips of basal lobes allowing to identify marginal individuals. Later I will check leaf width of both species. The data used by Yuzbasioglu to characterize alexandri are from literature and includes Greek plants, too.
Janis
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Than we start to find hybrid samples between. So Sırrı has hardy found one hybrid which is showen in article from quite another different mixed population which I have not visited. But I still think C. tracicus and C. chrysanthus (which occurring in this area) are very conservative to make hybrid. Because till now I couldn’t find any speckled C. chrysanthus in these mixed populations while C. tracicus is mostly speckled.
With my best wishes to all crocus lovers…
ibrahim
Regarding hybrids. As you can see alexandri in some spots is growing side by side with chrysanthus. During two trips there I found only two hybrids between thousands of typical plants.
Near Granitis most of alexandri were white to very light speckled. Near top of Mt. Falakro were more common darker forms but light and white ones were not unusual, too. As I noted - I didn't see any white rimmed flower.
Janis
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By Karamplianis & al - Crocus alexandri leaves are only up to 1.5 mm wide - so completely merge with leaves of C. thracicus.
Janis
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Janis,
I have seen in search article on C. alexandri and C. pallidus. which has made in Serbia 2013.
For C. alexandri leaves written 1.5-2.5mm. wide. and white rim is not so remarkable.
ibrahim