Crocus banaticus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Iridaceae
Subfamilia: Crocoideae
Tribus: Croceae
Genus: Crocus
Species: Crocus banaticus
Name

Crocus banaticus J.Gay, Bull. Sci. Nat. Géol. 25: 320. 1831.

Typus: [Romania:] 'Habitat in Banatu et Transylvania' (K).

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Crocus byzantinus Ker Gawl., Bot. Mag. 28: t. 1111. 1808.
Crocus nudiflorus Schult., Oestr. Fl., ed. 2, 1: 101. 1814, nom. illeg.
Crocus iridiflorus Heuff. ex Rchb., Icon. Fl. Germ. Helv. 9: 10. 1847.
Crociris iridiflora (Heuff. ex Rchb.) Schur, Verh. Mitth. Siebenbürg. Vereins Naturwiss. Hermannstadt 4: 73. 1853.
Crocus herbertianus Körn., Index Seminum (B, Berolinensis) 1854(App.): 15. 1855.
Crociris speciosa Schur, Verh. Mitth. Siebenbürg. Vereins Naturwiss. Hermannstadt 4: 73. 1853.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Middle Europe
Czechoslovakia (Slovakia), Hungary.
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Romania, Yugoslavia (Serbia)
Regional: Eastern Europe
Ukraine.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Gay, J.É. 1831. Nouvelles espèces de Crocus. Bulletin des Sciences Naturelles et de Géologie 25(3): 319–321. BHL Reference page.

Additional references

Rukšāns, J. 2017. The World of Crocuses. 568 pp. The Latvian Academy of Sciences, Riga. ISBN 978-9934-19-125-1. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Crocus banaticus in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Jan 19. Reference page. (giving Crociris spp. and Crocus byzantinus as synonyms of Crocus salzmannii)
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Crocus banaticus in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Siebenbürger Herbst-Krokus
magyar: Bánáti sáfrány

Crocus banaticus, syn. C. iridiflorus, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Iridaceae, native to the Balkans, particularly in Serbia, Romania and south western Ukraine.[1] It creates its own subgenus in the Crocus subfamily known as Crociris . It is a cormous perennial growing to 10 cm (4 in).[2]

Flowers, usually violet but also white, appear in autumn (fall). The small inner tepals are surrounded by three larger tepals, unlike the more symmetrical crocus species found outside of the subfamily. The flowers are followed by grass-like leaves, lacking the silver stripe normally associated with the genus.[3]

Crocus banaticus has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[2]
References

Crocus banaticus and other fall blooming species of Crocus
"Crocus banaticus". Plant Selector. Royal Horticultural Society.
RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 1405332964.