Crocus October 2009

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Truly gorgeous Janis !!

[Hristo]

I must second Paul, great to see so many crocus species and selections! A real tonic.

We took possibly our last window of opportunity yesterday to go see if we could find Crocus pallasii. Simon had a hunch that it might be found in area called Kaliakra on the Black Sea coast. Not listed here by Flora Bulgarica it seemed to make sense as this area was congruent with the Crimea before the formation of the Black Sea. Kaliakra is home to a number of relicts such as Adonis volgensis and Paeonia tenuifolia as well as a number of Balkan / Bulgarian endemics ( to be posted elsewhere ).
Never in large numbers we found individual flowers amongst the limestone pavement, probably only beginning to flower during the last few days as there has been heavy rainfall and temperatures have dropped greatly. Appologies for the poorer than normal quality of the flower pics, but I had to photograph them inbetween watching them beating themselves to bits on the ground as the winds from the north battered them!!

Janis, look forward to seeing how the Crimean C.pallasii compare!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Most interesting Chris !!
Learning every day here on the forum ! 

[Hristo]

Thanks Luc, the day we stop learning is the day lots of people say nice things about us, eat buns and eye up our crocus collections!

[Ragged Robin]

Truly gorgeous Janis !!

I agree whole heartedly with Luc, Janis, thank goodness you found it on your desktop to show us its beauty

[Janis Ruksans]

Janis, look forward to seeing how the Crimean C.pallasii compare!

I'm flying to Kiev tomorrow and then by night train to Crimea. Weather broadcast not very favourable, but hope to picture something. Will be back on Tuesday.
Janis

[Tony Willis]

Some in flower with me at the moment.

First a nice coloured Crocus pallasii

Crocus goulimyi from my collection and then the very fine one from Melvyn (apologies I have mislabeled the pictures as boryi)
Two Crocus pulchellus one normal sized one from Ulu Dag and then a very large one from Mt Vertisikos in Greece. A picture of them together to show the contrast in size

Finally a Crocus cancellatus from near Marmaris Turkey

[WimB]

One that is flowering here outside now:

Crocus goulimyi

[Ragged Robin]

Tony, your crocus are so beautiful and the way you have photographed them is remarkable, thank you for such a wonderful sight 

[Tony Willis]

thank you it seems to have been a reasonable autumn and quite pleasing that so many have flowered.

[Armin]

Chris,
a very nice C. pallasii with broad pedals A bit pity that there was not enough sunshine to open the flowers completely.

TonyW,
wow - that a very nice striking C. pallasii too.
Also the C. goulimyi is nicely striped.

[Sinchets]

First a nice coloured Crocus pallasii

Nicely coloured Crocus pallasii,Tony. I assume this is C.pallasii pallasii as it looks similar to one I have here from Cambridge bulbs also collected in Turkey, from Antalya if my records are correct. What I do find interesting is that the paller, fuller flowered forms we have shown here from northeast Bulgaria, are still classed with these from Turkey as C.pallasii pallasii. Whilst narrower, darker formed kinds are C.pallasii dispathaceus or even just C.dispathaceus. Looking at the Crocus pages ours in Bulgaria seem to have more in common with C.pallasii haussknechtii. Pictures of plants we have seen posted from localities in the Rodopi, actually look more like the pictures show here of Turkish C.pallasii pallasii, and presumably they look this way in Greece too. As Chris mentioned Cape Kaliakra is famous as being the only place in Bulgaria where many normally Crimean flora and fauna can be found.
All this is a matter of opinion I know, but sadly the Bulgarian flora is much understudied and seemingly of little interest to the lumpers and splitters. 
It will be interesting to see what the ones in Crimea, which Janis hopes to find, look like.
BTW where in Greece is Mt Vertisikos please?

[tonyg]

Simon
Very interesting to see Bulgarian Crocus pallasii.  As Mathew lists S & E Bulgaria for it, I think it is probably best to leave it as ssp pallasii although this can  be something of a catch-all taxa.  I have grown ssp haussknechtii which is quite distinct in flower, sometimes having a pale cream colour on the outer petals.  I may have grown ssp turcicus which often has rather narrow petalled flowers but as ssp pallasii also grows in Turkey some of my seed raisings are difficult to ascribe one way or the other!  The pic of ssp dispathaceus on Crocus Pages is of a plant that David Stephens (another collection holder) grew.  Very distinct and impossible to confuse with the other taxa.

.....Can you go back and check the variability in a couple of weeks ..... oh and again for seed in the spring

[Janis Ruksans]

Simon
Very interesting to see Bulgarian Crocus pallasii.  As Mathew lists S & E Bulgaria for it, I think it is probably best to leave it as ssp pallasii although this can  be something of a catch-all taxa. 
.....Can you go back and check the variability in a couple of weeks ..... oh and again for seed in the spring

I think that Bulgarian-Crimean are very similar and by my opinion they are different from pallasii pallasii from Turkey. But this is viewpoint of gardener, without scientific background. How looks Crimean plants you can see earlier on my entries in this topic (or in September).
Janis

[Gerry Webster]

Crocus ligusticus (formerly C. medius)

Received three years ago from Hythe Alpines, this appears to be a selection from the common trade form -  which is usually virused. In the time this form  has been with me it has shown no sign of virus infection.

(my apologies for the junk in the background).