Crocus sieberi, Sieber's crocus,[2][3] also referred to as the Cretan crocus or snow crocus (as is Crocus chrysanthus), is a plant of the genus Crocus in the family Iridaceae. A small, early blooming crocus, it easily naturalises, and is marked by a brilliant orange which is mostly confined to the stamens and style, fading through the bottom third of the tepal. It grows wild generally in the Balkans: Greece, especially in the island of Crete, Bulgaria, Albania and North Macedonia. There are four subtypes: sieberi (Crete), atticus (Attica area around Athens), nivalis and sublimis. Its cultivars are used as ornamental plants. Height: 3–4 inches (7.6–10.2 cm).
Crocus sieberi subsp. sieberi - Native to Crete: flowering in April. The white flowers with yellow throats stand up to 8 cm, the outer surfaces of the flowers are marked with varying degrees of purple. The branched styles are deep orange or yellow.[1]
Crocus sieberi subsp. atticus - Native to the Attica region of Greece, it has lilac-blue or violet flowers with yellow throats. The corm tunics are more coarsely netted than the other subspecies.[1] It is found growing in stony areas in the mountains and in woods and scrub areas usually above 1000 meters, with flowering occurring from March to June.[4]
Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis - Native to the Peloponnese, southern Albania, North Macedonia, and also found in southern Bulgaria, has pale lilac flowers with pale yellow throats.[1]
Crocus sieberi subsp. nivalis - Native to the Peloponnese with lilac-blue flowers that have yellow throats.[1]
Uses
Crocus sieberi is cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant for its flowers. It has also been used as food; in Greece the corms are eaten raw - with the flavor said to resemble hazelnuts. In Turkey, the leaves are eaten as greens.[1]
'Hubert Edelsten'agm[6] is a cross between Crocus sieberi subsp. sieberi and Crocus sieberi subsp. atticus.[7] (outside deep purple with broad white bands, inside pale lilac with orange center)
'Ronald Ginns' (pale pink to white petals with dark purple feathering on the outside and a yellow throat)
'Tricolor'agm[8] (gold centre, middle white band, outer rich lilac-blue edge)
'Violet Queen' (deep amethyst-violet flowers, paler within, with a rich, golden centre)
Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis forma tricolor burtt. - from Mt. Chelmos in the northern Peloponnese.[7] Plants are more variable than the cultivar 'Tricolor', with bright lilac flowers that have bright orange throats and a white band.[9]
^USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Crocus sieberi". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
