Crocus October 2009

[Regelian]

OK, these just popped-up along the walkway.  I've had these little gems for some years, but am unsure as to their ID.  I have tenetaively noted them as C. ochroleucus, but have no idea.  They are quite small, flowers about 1.5-2cm tall and just a touch of leaves showing at the base.

jamie

[mark smyth]

Thanks Jamie.

[mark smyth]

The style looks like my ochroleucus

[johnw]

I'm very angry this morning. Over night boys without fathers, cant say the word, smashed one of the louvre panels in my green house and stole 8 pots of Crocus and threw others on the ground. He or she and their friends need a firework shoved up their a$$

Mark - Condolences.  Very maddening. They sell cheap security cameras now that link up with your computer and are motion and sound sensitive.

When I was in states several years ago a greenhouse owner had a big poster on the outside, it pictured a front end shot of the barrel of a gun and said if you are found in here at 11pm you will be found in here at 8am. Scared the hell out of me.

johnw

 

[I.S.]

 Mark, I am very sorry about your annoyance case 
 
 Here is my third C. cancellatus in flower with leaves while the other subsp. flower wihtout leaves, although it is uper then 1600 m. att. And also it looks smaller then other subsp.
 C. cancellatus subsp. lycius

 

[jnovis]

Lovely photo`s,Mark. How do you get such a good depth of field, Jim.

[mark smyth]

Good camera I suppose, James. I only take photos in good light and never when the sky grey. I take many photos like those above in the house when the sun is shining.

[mark smyth]

I use a Canon 900Ti but when I am able I'll be buying a 990IS. It is all singing all dancing. When set on auto it can recognise 18 possible types of photo about to be taken including inside, outside - all conditions and macro. No need to use buttons to use play back of photos. Just shake the camera gently

[dominique]

Very sad for you Mark. How difficult to understand the reasons of these acts.

[Lesley Cox]

The vandalism is very disappointing Mark. I can understand your anger as one is so helpless, especially after the event. Is your glasshouse near to the public footpath or did they have to walk around to the back of your house? If so it shows an incredible amount of arrogance.

[tonyg]

Lovely photo`s,Mark. How do you get such a good depth of field, Jim.

Compact digital cameras have a natural advantage in that the image sensor is very close to the lens.  This allows for remarkable depth of field even in macro.  A better quality camera will doubtless give better results but as long as you have the macro facility for close-up work, you should be fine.  I am still using a camera aquired in 2002 .... but I will get around to upgrading it soon  Practice makes perfect when taking pics and good light helps a lot.

[tonyg]

After nine years Crocus moabiticus has flowered here!  Well, I hope it is Crocus moabiticus.  Remarkably two plants from different raisings have come into flower for the first time on the same day.  The plant pictured as no 1 is from seed sent by Jane McGary (California) in 2000.  The plant pictured as no 2 is from John Lonsdale who got his seed also from Jane.  I believe Jane got her original plants as seed from Mike Salmon in the UK (I will check this later).  
BUT .. is it moabiticus.  It certainly does not fit very well with the description by Brian Mathew in 'The Crocus'.  To my eye it has more in common with Crocus cartwrightianus but Brian admits (in 1980) that C moabiticus is a little known species which may be more variable than the limited sample he examined.  The plants I grow are nonetheless very beautiful ... whatever I call them

[Lesley Cox]

Oran showed some pictures last year of C. moabiticus and gave me permission to use them in a talk so I guess he won't mind if I put them here. They're not quite like yours Tony but I imagine that dry though your garden may be, it is not quite like the Moab desert.

[Oron Peri]

Tony

The first one is c. moabiticus for sure, vain patterns, proportions of the anthers and the wide lanceolate style that seems to 'wonder around' in this species indicates it.

Regarding the second I'm not 100% sure, it is less veined, more color washed and the style and anthers are quite small and thin, but than it might be also a climate factor that caused it, as Lesley said it is a species that grows in the desert.
Any way Bravo!!!

Another thing you can check  the tip of the leaves, they are quite hard and thorny
probably to avoid insects from eating them, since at the time this species flower there is little green available in the desert [ you can notice it clearly in the photos i have sent to Lesley].

This morning another case of double form this time C. boryi.

[Gerry Webster]

Very interesting Tony. If not informed otherwise I would have supposed this to be C. cartwrightianus. I've only seen C. moabiticus in the flesh once - years ago at the Horsham Show - & I thought it a miserable thing  with very small & 'starry' flowers. Oron's photos suggest it is much better than this.   Your plant - whatever it is - is very beautiful.

Addition - I note that your second plant has leaves whereas Oron's dont. BM says it is hysteranthous but I guess cultural conditions could be responsible?