Crocus cartwrightianus
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| Crocus cartwrightianus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Iridaceae |
| Genus: | Crocus |
| Species: | C. cartwrightianus |
| Binomial name | |
| Crocus cartwrightianus | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Crocus cartwrightianus is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae.[2][3] It is native to mainland Greece, Euboea, Crete, Skyros and some islands of the Cyclades.[4] It is a cormous perennial growing to 5 cm (2 in). The flowers, in shades of lilac or white with purple veins and prominent red stigmas, appear with the leaves in autumn and winter.[5]
The flower style divides while still within the throat of the flower, well below the bases of the anthers. The branches of the stigma are taller than the anthers and about the same length as the petals. The throat of the flower is bearded. The leaves and flowers are produced at the same.[6][clarification needed]
The Latin specific epithet cartwrightianus refers to the 19th-century British consul to Constantinople, John Cartwright.[7]
C. cartwrightianus is possibly a wild progenitor of the domesticated triploid Crocus sativus – the saffron crocus[8][9][10] with a population in Attica, Greece suggested as the closest known modern population to the saffron ancestors.[11] Saffron likely originated in Iran,[12] Greece[13] or Mesopotamia.[12]
Habitat
This species is commonly found growing on limestone soil areas of the Attica Peninsula of Greece.
