Crocus sieberi

Crocus sieberi
File:Crocus sieberi Tricolor06.jpg
Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis 'Tricolor'
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Iridaceae
Subfamily:	Crocoideae
Genus:	Crocus
Species:	C. sieberi
Binomial name
Crocus sieberi (L.) J.Gay

Crocus sieberi, Sieber's crocus, also referred to as the Cretan crocus or snow crocus (as is Crocus chrysanthus), is a plant of the Crocus genus in the Iridaceae family. A small, early blooming crocus, it easily naturalises, and is marked by a brilliant orange which is mostly confined to the stamens and style, fading through the bottom third of the tepal. It grows wild generally in the Balkans and Greece, especially in the island Crete. There are four subtypes: sieberi (Crete), atticus (Attica area around Athens), nivalis and sublimis. Its cultivars are used as ornamental plants. Height: 3–4 inches (7.6–10.2 cm).

Cultivars

Examples:

• 'Bowles's White'agm (white with orange centre)
• 'Firefly' (lilac)
• 'Hubert Edelsten'agm (outside deep purple with broad white bands, inside pale lilac with orange center)
• 'Ronald Ginns' (pale pink to white petals with dark purple feathering on the outside and a yellow throat)
• 'Tricolor'agm (gold centre, middle white band, outer rich lilac-blue edge)
• 'Violet Queen' (deep amethyst-violet flowers, paler within, with a rich, golden centre)

The species and the cultivars marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

• Crocus sieberi Bowles White1.jpg

  Crocus sieberi subsp. atticus 'Bowles White'

• Crocus sieberi - tricolor.jpg

  Crocus sieberi corms

References

• Jānis Rukšāns. Buried treasures: finding and growing the world's choicest bulbs, Timber Press, 2007. ISBN 0-88192-818-6, ISBN 978-0-88192-818-1

External links

• The Plant Expert
• Paghat's Garden
• IPNI Listing
• Kew Plant List