Crocus- and others, in Turkey, Spring 2011

[Janis Ruksans]

Just returned from short trip to Turkey. Returned a week earlier than supposed due horrible weather - endless rains changing to snow in mountains. It was not worth to stay there longer. Here in my home still hard night frosts till minus 20 C, but days are sunny - temperature rises up to minus 2 C only. In greenhouses it reach even + 18 C in afternoons. It is most difficult period. Fortunately my covering with glasswool sheets works marvellously. In night it stops penetrating of frost and in day the same with heat. Under cover temperature at present is only +2 C and development is very very slow. Today I took one pot inside - for pollination. It is Crocus almehensis - relative of chrysanthus but with far wider leaves. I hope for some seed, but it could be very difficult as all my 3 corms are produced by splitting of the initial one. If some of forumists have this species - would be pleased to swap for genetic diversity and seeds. Esp0ecially for form with striped back of petals, more common in wild.
Janis

About trip - a little later, I'm working now on pictures.

[Hoy]

Did you visit this place, Janis? 

[Janis Ruksans]

Just returned from Turkey where I again went to mountains E of Antalya for beautiful Crocus pictured 2 years ago by Dave. Last year I was there too late and failed in search, but now - just in time although I suppose that I found it on another spot than Dave. Weather was extremely bad - rains and rains, but our Lord (or Allah) was with us - just on place rain stopped for half an hour. So we could collected few corms for collection and a pair of plants for herbarium. It certainly is new species even (not subspecies of biflorus). There are several features separating it from such crocuses as crewei, isauricus and nubigena. My attempts to find it previous spring failed, but this spring I got offer from Turkish friend to make common trip. I agreed, because he can ask local people about this crocus by photographs made by Dave, but we found it without help from local villagers.
 
Weather was very bad and dark, so flowers were closed. Really it was great wonder that we found it. My friend spotted leaves of Castanea sativus in roadside ditch.  Chesnut trees were reported growing side by side with this crocus. How I spotted those 2 water washed ad-pressed to soil flowers some meters higher on slope, I can't understand even now. It was something blue what twinkled in my eyes sliding by slope. Turning back I long looked what it was and where before I saw it again. Climbing up muddy and slippery slope I reached this one and opened to check anthers - Yes! They were entirely black. As you can see - closed flowers are quite insignificant. In total at this population I counted 76 specimens. Population is very small - some 200 meters long between two living houses and some 30 meters up by slope. Crocuses were only below chestnut trees as all land around were ploughed. Returning of heavy rain stopped our attempts to search for other populations of this beauty.

 I made long trip searching for some crocuses. Weather was so dull and wet that in only few spots I succeed to picture half open flowers.

Janis

[Hoy]

This is a beauty, Janis! never seen anything like that before!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Wow Janis, what a stunning beauty !! 
Thanks very much for showing !

[Maggi Young]

I think this may be the Crocus Dave found which Janis was seeking on this trip.....
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3261.msg82977#msg82977

 Now named as Crocus roseoviolcaeus

[Janis Ruksans]

Did you visit this place, Janis? 

Phantastic view, but out of my interests, sorry.
Janis

[Carlo]

Outstanding! Might just be my new favorite crocus--despite the fact that it may not show up in gardens for some years (if ever...only 76 individuals so far...). Gives us all something to look forward to....

[Lesley Cox]

The black anthers on rich blue is very lovely, a new colour combo, for me at least. I'd barely got used to C. ch. 'Sunspot.'

[Janis Ruksans]

After leaving alone in Antalya I rented car. Stupid Janis - I checked everything but not resin on wheels... It was almost nude. OK, still driveable on dry roads, but not for snow and ice. My next target again was following Daves road. I visited Avlan Golu, where Crocus baytopiorum is growing on quite unusual location - unstable stone slips. After short searching I found this marvellous species just at start of blooming. Not very variable, but some variation you can see on attached pictures.
Just on roadside was another crocus - very close to C. biflorus crewei, but with yellow anthers. Only one specimen seen had black anthers. On place I noted as black connective, but now, checking my photo I understand that not only connective, but anthers were black. Again just start of flowering and very few specimens were seen. Only half an hour with some sun between deep clouds was sufficient for some opening of flowers.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Of course, I collected few corms for myself, but really very few - so it will take some years before I will have seed raised plants. There are many important features separating it from other "biflorus", few were found by my Turkish friends after returning to University and laboratory checking of collected material.

I wanted to visit locus classicus of my Crocus flavus subsp. sarichinarensis just described in my new book. It was quite late, but as locality is not very far from Antalya, I hoped to reach locality before total darkness. But road was not as good as in previous years, plus there was for some time closed road due huge transport in front of me. So I reached locality in total darkness. Well knowing where this crocus grow, I switched on minor light from my mobile telephone and - succeed to find it! So I got 5 corms for Botanical gardens collection and further laboratory research. Just now got mail that laboratory test confirmed that it really is new subspecies of crocuses.
Most interesting was explaining of crocus name - I named it by mountain ridge where it grows - Sarichinar Dag. I didn't know it before, but sari-chinar in Turkish mean - yellow platanus. Where you think is locus classicus of this taxon? JUST SIDE BY SIDE WITH HUGE PLATANUS TREE. So I couldn't give it better name.

Of course no possibilities to make pictures, so I'm attaching 2 pictures made in my collection and 3 from wild (pictured few years ago) showing some variability. You can see it in my book, too.

Janis

[Tony Willis]

Janis

it sounds a good trip although difficult due to the conditions. I am surprised you found the C. baytopiorum in flower so early as I thought it would be still under snow? Were the other crocuses flowering quite low down?

[Janis Ruksans]

Just somewhere disappear from screen long report about next day of my trip and I can't to find it more. Will try to repeat, but it never with me is easy.
So following day I went for Crocus biflorus atrospermus. I was in this locality in 2007 at mid of March. It was very cold morning, all was stiffed by frost and I found only few last flowers which by color looked as atrospermus, but really confirmation of name I got only 2 years later when ripened the first seeds. They really were black. The name atrospermus means - black (atro-) seeded (-spermus). So the plants were correctly identified. Now I was there much earlier, and... something too early. Only after long search I found few buds just coming out of ground at something lower altitude but still in limits of atrospermus. On attached pictures you can see this beautiful subspecies.
On opposite side of dirty road winding in mountains I spotted another crocus, at first look named "atrospermus light form" with very light blue flowers (still named so on pictures). Only next morning when I dissected few flowers on windowsill of my hotels room, I noted that it looks far different from typical atrospermus - note the small deep purple zone deep in throat.  This one looks quite far from my concept how must to look atrospermus. But two biflorus subspecies in same spot? Seems incredible but later I remembered that Erich Pasche and Helmut Kerndorf in some article mention two other subspecies growing in mixed population. Question still remain - what is this one? In same morning I found that on same spot, between deep blue plants I got one C. antalyensis corm, but flower was damaged for picture. There were two other crocuses - at slightly higher altitude grow C. fleischeri, but between atrospermus - autumn blooming C. cancellatus, too.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Further I turned in direction of Denizli where Ibrahim give me coordinates of some C. biflorus crewei population, where he collected the form, later named by him 'Hot Chocolate' and admired by forumists. But I couldn't withstand and stopped where huge meadow was covered by thousands of Cyclamen trockopteranthon flowers with fantastic sweet aroma. So I reached Crocus crewei locality when it was quite dark for good pictures. I was surprised by variability of this subspecies. Never before saw flowers with dotted back of flowers segments, and of course now I saw 'Hot Chocolate' in nature, too. Unfortunately it was far too dark for good pictures, but some I made.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Next morning I accidentally stopped on roadside quite close to Denizli and was nicely rewarded by several beautiful plants, although morning was very rainy. The first plants seen were Crocus chrysanthus, but between them the most beautiful color ever seen - creamy white with deep yellow throat. Unfortunately all flowers were tightly closed.
Side by side grew a lot of biflorus crewei and again, as in yesterdays locality - variability was very great, and between them many with 'Hot Chocolate' color type, too. To show you real colors and variability, I dissected several flowers and pictured them from outside and inside. Note the one of "chocolate" type.
Janis