Crocus tommasinianus
Crocus tommasinianus, the woodland crocus, early crocus, or Tommasini's crocus, often referred to as tommies, were named after the botanist Muzio G. Spirito de Tommasini, who was Mayor of the Austro-Hungarian city of Trieste. They are native to Bulgaria, Hungary, Albania, and the former Yugoslavia. They are often referred to as early or snow crocuses, but these terms are shared with several other species, although C. tommasinianus is amongst the first to bloom.Description
It is a cormous perennial of the genus Crocus in the family Iridaceae with a lilac flower, and is one of the smaller of the cultivated species. It has slender flowers about long, with white perianth tubes, petals pale silvery lilac to reddish purple, while the outer petals may be overlaid with silver and darker tips. A variant, C. tommasinianus f. albus, is white. Its cultivars are used as ornamental plants. Height:
It naturalises easily earning an official recognition as a weed. It is often planted in large drifts in gardens and parks.
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.Cultivars
Examples:
- 'Barr's Purple'
- 'Lilac Beauty'
- 'Roseus'
- 'Ruby Giant'
- 'Whitewell Purple'
