Crocus cartwrightianus

Crocus cartwrightianus
Crocus cartwrightianus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Crocoideae
Genus: Crocus
Species: C. cartwrightianus
Binomial name
Crocus cartwrightianus
Herb.

Crocus cartwrightianus is an eastern Mediterranean autumn-flowering species of crocus, and is of the family Iridaceae (irises). C. cartwrightianus is the presumed wild precursor of the domesticated and now widely cultivated triploid Crocus sativus — the saffron crocus flower [1], [2].

This species is commonly found growing on limestone soil areas of the Attica Peninsula of Greece.[3] There is evidence that this plant was cultivated in ancient Crete at least as early as the Middle Minoan Period, as exhibited by a mural, the "Saffron Gatherer", illustrating the gathering of crocuses.[4]

Line notes

  1. ^ DNA analysis in Crocus sativus and related Crocus species.
  2. ^ M. Grilli Caiola - Saffron reproductive biology
  3. ^ Crocus cartwrightianus on of the Attica Peninsula
  4. ^ C.Michael Hogan, Knossos Fieldnotes, the Modern Antiquarian (2007)

References


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