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Crocus etruscus
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<h2 id="description">Description</h2> <p><i>Crocus etruscus</i> is a herbaceous perennial <a href="/facts/Storage_organ/FTXfMqAt">geophyte</a> growing from a <a href="/facts/Corm/vDlWanct">corm</a>. The corm is globe shaped with a flat top, the tunic is coarsely netted and a secondary star-shaped tunic is produced around the basal plate (where the roots are generated). Flowers are lavender-blue with gray-blue outer surfaces that are marked with dark veining. The three-branched, orange-red stigma is generally taller than the anthers. Flowering occurs in late winter- early spring.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> Plants are self-incompatible,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> meaning that viable seeds are not produced when <a href="/facts/Pollination/u383g7XJ">pollination</a> occurs among flowers of the same corm. The anthers open up away from the center of the flower to release pollen.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="habitat">Habitat</h2> <p>It is found growing in sub-Mediterranean deciduous woods and stony fields; the species may be in bloom from February to April.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> The species is almost extinct in the wild.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> It has a restricted natural range, being endemic to the southwestern part of Tuscany.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>In nature the plant has "near-threatened" status.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> However, it also appears in cultivation. It has gained the <a href="/facts/Royal_Horticultural_Society/QrtXmlUo">Royal Horticultural Society</a>'s <a href="/facts/Award_of_Garden_Merit/zQ4Ya8S6">Award of Garden Merit</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="cultivars">Cultivars</h2> <ul><li><i>Crocus etruscus</i> 'Zwanenburg' is a cultivar with flowers that are pale violet-gray. The flowers have lilac-blue and deep violet-blue striations, with pale yellow throats, and orange anthers.</li> <li><i>Crocus etruscus</i> 'Rosalind' is a cultivar with soft pink flowers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></li></ul> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crocus etruscus. <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Carta A, Pierini B, Alessandrini A, Frignani F, Peruzzi L (2010). "Contributo alla conoscenza della flora vascolare endemica di Toscana ed aree contermini. 1. Crocus etruscus Parl. (Iridaceae)". Inform. Bot. Ital. 42 (1): 47–52. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965. <a href="978-1405332965" target="_blank">978-1405332965</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Jelitto, Leo; Schacht, Wilhelm; Epp, Michael E.; Baumgardt, John Philip; Fessler, Alfred (1990). Hardy herbaceous perennials. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 170. ISBN 0-88192-159-9. OCLC 20012412. <a href="0-88192-159-9" target="_blank">0-88192-159-9</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Carta A, Campigli S, Peruzzi L, Bedini G (2016-11-01). "The avoidance of self-interference in the Tuscan endemic spring geophyte Crocus etruscus Parl. (Iridaceae)". Plant Biosystems. 150 (6): 1358–1363. doi:10.1080/11263504.2015.1118164. ISSN 1126-3504. S2CID 87988779. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Carta A, Campigli S, Peruzzi L, Bedini G (2016-11-01). "The avoidance of self-interference in the Tuscan endemic spring geophyte Crocus etruscus Parl. (Iridaceae)". Plant Biosystems. 150 (6): 1358–1363. doi:10.1080/11263504.2015.1118164. ISSN 1126-3504. S2CID 87988779. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Phillips, Roger; Rix, Martyn (1989). The Random House Book of Bulbs. Random House. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-679-72756-9. <a href="978-0-679-72756-9" target="_blank">978-0-679-72756-9</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Jelitto, Leo; Schacht, Wilhelm; Epp, Michael E.; Baumgardt, John Philip; Fessler, Alfred (1990). Hardy herbaceous perennials. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 170. ISBN 0-88192-159-9. OCLC 20012412. <a href="0-88192-159-9" target="_blank">0-88192-159-9</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Carta A, Campigli S, Peruzzi L, Bedini G (2016-11-01). "The avoidance of self-interference in the Tuscan endemic spring geophyte Crocus etruscus Parl. (Iridaceae)". Plant Biosystems. 150 (6): 1358–1363. doi:10.1080/11263504.2015.1118164. ISSN 1126-3504. S2CID 87988779. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Carta, A.; Peruzzi, L. (2011). "Crocus etruscus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T161939A5516365. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T161939A5516365.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021. <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/161939/5516365" target="_blank">https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/161939/5516365</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Crocus etruscus". Royal Horticultural Society. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013. <a href="https://archive.today/20130722051030/http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=2561" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130722051030/http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=2561</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Jelitto, Leo; Schacht, Wilhelm; Epp, Michael E.; Baumgardt, John Philip; Fessler, Alfred (1990). Hardy herbaceous perennials. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 170. ISBN 0-88192-159-9. OCLC 20012412. <a href="0-88192-159-9" target="_blank">0-88192-159-9</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>