Colchicum speciosum

Colchicum speciosumWorld checklist of selected families is a species of flowering plant in the family Colchicaceae, native to mountainous areas of northern Turkey, the Caucasus and northern Iran. Growing to 18 cm tall by 10 cm wide, it is an herbaceous perennial growing from corms. C. speciosum blooms in the fall, producing reddish/violet flowers on stems up to 30 cm tall without any leaves present. The strap-like leaves grow in the spring, then yellow, wither and die back as summer progresses. The flowers strongly resemble those of the crocus, the familiar spring-flowering bulb; hence the common name autumn crocus which is applied to this and other colchicum species. However the two genera belong to different families;Steven, Christian von. 1829. Nouveau Mémoires de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou 7: 265, t. 15. and there is in fact an autumn-flowering crocus species, Crocus sativus, the source of the spice saffron. By contrast, all parts of Colchicum speciosum are toxic if ingested.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.