| Spring Meadow Saffron | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Liliales |
| Family: | Colchicaceae |
| Genus: | Colchicum |
| Species: | C. bulbocodium |
| Binomial name | |
| Colchicum bulbocodium Ker Gawl. |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Bulbocodium vernum L. |
|
Colchicum bulbocodium, the Spring Meadow Saffron is a species of alpine bulbs native to the Pyrenees and the Alps of Europespecies of poisonous plant.
The plant is a hardy spring flower bulb, very small in size, reaching about 7-10 cm high. From April to June, the strap-shaped leaves emerge with pink-to-purple crocus-like flowers, 3-8 cm in diameter. As all the species of the genus Colchicum, the species is poisonous.
Colchicum bulbocodium subsp. versicolor (Ker Gawl.) K. Perss. (syn. Bulbocodium versicolor (Ker Gawl.) Spreng.) is native in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. The plant is in all its parts smaller than Colchicum bulbocodium.
The plant is cultivated as ornamental plants. It has 'great' flowers for the rock garden, which is beautiful en masse.