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And the last series of tournefortii What you think of the yellow one ?
Wonderfull pictures Chris!Concerning the yellow one: in the south-east of Crete C. tournefortii grows together with C. boryi and they hybridises each other.if this pictures are taken in the south-east, probably this crocus should be C. boryi???Hendrik - Belgium
Kris - I too have wondered about the identity of your yellow crocus. According to Brian Mathew, the only member of series Laevigatae which can sometimes have yellow flowers (externally) is C. laevigatus. Were your plants isolated or part of a larger population? I am rather doubtful that it is C. boryi x tournefortii - since all the plants I have seen (in photos & in the flesh) of that hybrid have been white. However, I suppose something new is always possible.
If Crocus laevigatus can have white, yellow backed flowers, why not also a rare form of Crocus tournefortii? BUT All the Crocus tournefortii you have pictured have flowers open or partly so, typical for a plant where the flowers stay open in poor weather and at night. The yellow backed white are very closed, despite being well developed above the leaves, ie not 'just emerged'. So I think these are likely Crocus laevigatus, of which I have seen other, similar forms in cultivation.
Kris. Maybe it is a question of timing. What would you see if you were there two weeks later (or another year later)? Perhaps there will be many Crocus laevigatus later and few Crocus tournefortii. I heard of someone who revisited a known population of white Crocus goulimyi to find more blues than whites.
Thanks Tony . Yes ,could be the right explanation . But nevertheless , I feel the need to go back again
If it is laevigatus it would be interesting to know if there are hybrids.
Kris very nice crosi from wild Thanks for sharing with us.I think the second crocus is C. oreocreticusWith my best wishes..ibrahim
Kris - according to Mathew the most significant morphological difference between C. cartwrightianus & C. oreocreticus is that the former has a ring of hairs in the throat. He also claims that the latter is not found below 1000m.