Colchicum brachyphyllum

Colchicum brachyphyllum grows abundantly by the melting snow of the mountains of Lebanon. The preferred name is now C. szovitsii ssp. brachyphyllum.

Colchicum brachyphyllum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Monocots
Order:
Liliales
Family:
Colchicaceae
Genus:
Colchicum
Species:
C. brachyphyllum
Binomial name
Colchicum brachyphyllum
Boiss. & Hausskn.

The generic name of this flower comes from Colchis, a legendary kingdom east of the Black Sea, since this plant is poisonous and calls back to memory that Colchis had been the native country of Medea, the famous poisoner in antiquity. Brachyphyllum is formed from the Greek Brakhus, short, and phullon leaf. Meadow saffron has six stamens. This characteristic, among others, differentiates it from the crocus, which belongs to the family Iridaceae and has three stamens.[1]

Description

Perennial. Corm oval, 1–2 cm long. Leaves short at flowering time, then reaching 12 cm long over 2.5–3 cm wide, slightly undulate. Flowers numerous, white, pinkish white, or regular pink; tube rather thick. Tepals elliptico-lanceolate, lengthily tapered at base, more briefly at the apex, 2–3 cm long, 3–6 mm wide. Stamens with brown anthers and filaments thickened at the base.

Flowering

The plant flowers from January to June.

Habitat

By melting snow.

Distribution

Middle and upper mountains of Lebanon, eastern slope, Beqaa valley.

Geographic area

Syria, Lebanon, Turkey.

References
  1. Mustapha Nehmeh, Wild flowers of Lebanon, National Council For Scientific Research,1978, (p.138).
  • Mustapha Nehmeh, Wild flowers of Lebanon,National Council For Scientific Research,1978.
  • Georges Tohme& Henriette Tohme, IIIustrated Flora of Lebanon, National Council For Scientific Research, Second Edition 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.