Urban Nature Pictures 3/16; 50 more urban species #7: Crocus

[urbpan]

As I understand it Crocus is a genus of 80 plants or so, about 30 of which are cultivated, native to Eurasia and North Africa. Of these the most well known are those varieties which bloom very early in spring--in fact, it is not yet spring, and here they are. A waxy coating protects the parts of the flower from the elements before it blooms. One species of Crocus is cultivated for the production of the spice saffron, made from the dried stigma of the flower. All of this I have learned from the wikipedia entry on Crocuses. Anything more, from the gardeners and cultivated plant fans, would be welcomed in the comments here. I am particularly interested in corrections to the next paragraph, which is educated supposition bordering on bullplop.

I suspect that the pollinators of these flowers did not come over with the bulbs, and that their flowering, while it may cheer the weary winter heart, does nothing to further the plant's reproductive goals. This would be why one does not typically find crocus fruit following the dying of the flower, nor does a North American observer find wild or "volunteer" crocuses grown from seed. Or do they? This photograph shows a crocus growing from between stones, indicating a bizarre or clumsy bulb placement, or perhaps a wandering plant. Many plants, including snowdrop, spread vegetatively in the dirt, so that flowers may emerge some distance from the original bulb planting. The question still bothers me: does crocus participate in the ecosystem in any meaningful way, or is it just a pleasant reminder of spring, placed by conscientious gardeners?

Comments

[ssorca19.livejournal.com]

I for one planted them in our yard as they are usually the first thing up in the spring, and I wanted something colorful to take pics of as soon as possible! I've been disappointed so far, as I've seen no sign of them yet... I fear they may have been flooded out, as they were planted fairly close to the house...

[jostajam.livejournal.com]

My crocus are up and are definitely being pollinated by bees. Last year, I did indeed see seed capsules on my crocus, they're not terribly obvious being hidden and similar in shape to the stringy leaves. I've found crocus growing in the woods where no one would have planted them.

[momomom.livejournal.com]

I dug many crocus last year to spread them to a new area and in the process found many seed capsules. I had not noticed them before but having them dug up and drying caused me to look closely.

[kryptyd.livejournal.com]

It's about time the crocuses showed up. They're so late this year. Bloody cold, brrr

[psongster.livejournal.com]

I've long planted crocuses in abundance precisely because they provide early food for bees. In my garden (Arlington) I've seen several honeybees and one precocious bumblebee this season. Other years I've seen smaller bees (I suspect native?) with the crocuses, but I haven't spotted them thus far this year.

One of my goals as a gardener is to provide non-stop bee-food from first crocus through Thanksgiving. So from my point of view, crocuses are quite ecologically significant.

[m0053.livejournal.com]

I see them all the time in the middle of the forest where nobody would have planted them, but then again the area used to be all farms. If they do reproduce vegetatively, they have a LONG radius!