Colchicum autumnale

Colchicum autumnale
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Colchicaceae
Genus: Colchicum
Species:
C. autumnale
Binomial name
Colchicum autumnale
Synonyms[2]
Synonyms list
    • Colchicum commune Neck.
    • Bulbocodium antumnale (L.) Lapeyr.
    • Colchicum vernale Hoffm.
    • Colchicum vernum (Reichard) Georgi
    • Colchicum polyanthon Ker Gawl.
    • Colchicum praecox Spenn.
    • Colchicum crociflorum Sims
    • Colchicum orientale Friv. ex Kunth
    • Colchicum autumnale var. viridiflorum Opiz
    • Colchicum pannonicum Griseb. & Schenk
    • Colchicum transsilvanicum Schur
    • Colchicum turcicum subsp. pannonicum (Griseb. & Schenk) Nyman
    • Colchicum bulgaricum Velen.
    • Colchicum borisii Stef.
    • Colchicum vranjanum Adamovic ex Stef.
    • Colchicum doerfleri var. orientale Kitanov
    • Colchicum drenowskii Degen & Rech.f. ex Kitan.
    • Colchicum rhodopaeum Kov.

Colchicum autumnale, commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron,[3] naked boys[4] or naked ladies,[5] is a toxic autumn-blooming flowering plant that resembles the true crocuses, but is a member of the plant family Colchicaceae, unlike the true crocuses, which belong to the family Iridaceae. It is called "naked boys/ladies" because the flowers emerge from the ground long before the leaves appear.[6] Despite the vernacular name of "meadow saffron", this plant is not the source of saffron, which is obtained from the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus – and that plant, too, is sometimes called "autumn crocus".

The species is cultivated as an ornamental in temperate areas, in spite of its toxicity. The cultivar 'Nancy Lindsay' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[7][8]

  1. ^ Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 341, Colchicum autumnale
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kew was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. ^ "Colchicums".
  5. ^ A R Clapham, T G Tutin and E F Warburg, Flora of the British Isles, second edition, 1962, p 982
  6. ^ Gajic. 1977. Glasnik prirodnaučkog museja u Beogradu, Serija B, Bioloake nauke Nauke 32: 8. Colchicum autumnale
  7. ^ "RHS Plantfinder - Colchicum autumnale 'Nancy Lindsay'". Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  8. ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 22. Retrieved 24 January 2018.