''Crocus biflorus'', the silvery crocus or scotch crocus, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

Crocus ''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain underg ...

'' of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Iridaceae, native to southeastern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

and southwestern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

, including

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the

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Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> It is a

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ( perennation). The word ...

ous

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

growing to tall and wide. It is a highly variable species, with flowers in shades of pale mauve or white, often with darker stripes on the outer

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s. The flowers appear early in spring.

Description

''Crocus biflorus'' is a herbaceous perennial geophyte growing from a corm. The corm is globe-shaped with flattened ends, covered with a smooth tunic that has two or three rings. The white-lilac flowers with yellow throats have purple-blue striped outer surfaces. Each blooming corm typical produces two flowers, thus the species

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

"biflorus".

Classification

According to the taxonomic classification proposed by Brian Mathew in 1982, ''C. biflorus'' falls within the series ''Biflori'' of the section ''Nudiscapus'' within the

''Crocus''. However, modern DNA analysis is challenging whether the series ''Biflori'' can be separated from the ''Reticulati'' and ''Speciosi'' series.Brian Mathew, Gitte Petersen & Ole Seberg, A reassessment of ''Crocus'' based on molecular analysis, ''The Plantsman'' (N.S.) Vol 8, Part 1, pp50–57, March 2009 At least 21 subspecies of ''C. biflorus'' have been named; furthermore numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s have been raised for garden use. ;Subspecies *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''adamii'' (J.Gay) K.Richt. - Balkans, Ukraine, Crimea, Caucasus, Iran *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''albocoronatus'' Kerndorff - Taurus Mountains in Turkey *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''artvinensis'' (J.Philippow) B.Mathew - Caucasus, northeastern Turkey *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''atrospermus'' Kernd. & Pasche - Turkey *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''biflorus'' - Italy including Sicily, Turkey, Rodhos (Ρόδος, Rhodes) Island in Greece *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''caelestis'' Kernd. & Pasche - Turkey *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''caricus'' Kernd. & Pasche - Turkey *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''crewei'' (Hook.f.) B.Mathew - Turkey, Greek islands *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''fibroannulatus'' Kernd. & Pasche - Artvin Province in Turkey *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''ionopharynx'' Kernd. & Pasche - Turkey *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''isauricus'' (Siehe ex Bowles) B.Mathew - Turkey *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''leucostylosus'' Kernd. & Pasche - Denizli Province in Turkey *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''nubigena'' (Herb.) B.Mathew - Turkey, Greek islands. Found growing in evergreen oak scrub and pine forests from 100 to 1000 meters; blooming in November to March. *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''pseudonubigena'' B.Mathew - Turkey *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''pulchricolor'' (Herb.) B.Mathew - Turkey *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''punctatus'' B.Mathew - Turkey * ''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''stridii'' (Papan. & Zacharof) B.Mathew - northeastern Greece *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''tauri'' (Maw) B.Mathew - Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, Iraq. Found growing in damp woods, on open hillside with dry soils, and in alpine turf up to 3000 meters in elevation. Flowering from January to May. *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''weldenii'' (Hoppe & Fürnr.) K.Richt - Italy, Albania, Yugoslavia. Found growing around 1000 meters in rocky woods, commonly on limestone. *''Crocus biflorus'' subsp. ''yataganensis'' Kernd. & Pasche - Turkey

Award

The cultivar 'Blue Pearl' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (No ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q232324 biflorus Flora of Europe Flora of Asia Garden plants Plants described in 1768 Taxa named by Philip Miller