Colchicum

"Bulbocodium" redirects here. For the daffodil, see Narcissus bulbocodium.
Colchicum
Colchicum speciosum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Colchicaceae
Genus: Colchicum
L.
Synonyms[1]
  • Abandium Adans.
  • Bulbocodium L.
  • Celsia Boehm. nom. illeg.
  • Eudesmis Raf. nom. superfl.
  • Fouha Pomel
  • Geophila Bergeret nom. reg.
  • Hermodactylum (R.Br.) Bartl. nom. inval.
  • Merendera Ramond
  • Monocaryum (R.Br.) Rchb.
  • Paludana Salisb. nom. illeg.
  • Synsiphon Regel

Colchicum (/ˈkɒltʃᵻkəm/ or /ˈkɒlkᵻkəm/[2]) is a genus of perennial flowering plants containing around 160 species which grow from bulb-like corms. It is a member of the botanical family Colchicaceae, and is native to West Asia, Europe, parts of the Mediterranean coast, down the East African coast to South Africa and the Western Cape. In this genus the ovary of the flower is underground. As a consequence, the styles are extremely long in proportion, often more than 10 cm (4 in).

Common names

The common names "autumn crocus", "meadow saffron" and "naked lady" may be applied to the whole genus or to many of its species; they refer to the "naked" crocus-like flowers which appear in late summer or autumn, long before the strap-like foliage which appears in spring.

Etymology

The scientific name comes from the Colchis, a region in Georgia (Caucasus) known by the Ancient Greeks by that name, and mentioned in the mythology as the destination of the Argonauts and the place of Medea and the golden fleece.

Relationships

Colchicum melanthioides, also known as Androcymbium melanthioides,[3] is probably the best known species from the tropical regions. In contrast to most temperate colchicums the flower and leaves are produced at the same time, the white flowers are usually a small corymb which is enclosed by white bracts. Close relatives (such as Androcymbium scabromarginatum and Colchicum coloratum (Androcymbium burchellii)) have flowers with very short stalks and might be pollinated by rodents.[4]

Cultivation

Temperate colchicums are commonly grown in gardens as ornamental flowers. They include cultivars and hybrids such as:-

  • C. autumnale 'Alboplenum' (white)
  • C. autumnale 'Nancy Lindsay'agm[5] (mauve pink)
  • C. autumnale 'Pleniflorum' (red)
  • C. 'Dick Trotter' (violet with white centre)
  • C. 'Disraeli' (purple white),
  • C. 'Giant' (red with white centre)
  • C. 'Harlekijn' (white with purple band)
  • C. 'Lilac Wonder' (lilac)
  • C. 'Pink Goblet'agm[6] (violet-purple)
  • C. 'Poseidon' (purple)
  • C. 'Rosy Dawn'agm[7] (rose pink)
  • C. 'Violet Queen' (purple)
  • C. 'Waterlily'agm[8] (double, lilac-pink)

(Those marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit).

In the United Kingdom, the National Collection of colchicums is maintained at Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk.

Medicinal uses and poisonous properties

The plant contains the alkaloid colchicine which is used pharmaceutically to treat gout and Familial Mediterranean fever. The use of the roots and seeds in traditional medicine is thought to have arisen due to the presence of this drug.

Its leaves, corm and seeds are poisonous. Murderer Catherine Wilson is thought to have used it to poison a number of victims in the 19th century.

Species

The following are the species included under Colchicum.[9] Many species previously classified under Androcymbium, Bulbocodium and Merendera were synonymized under Colchicum based on molecular genetic evidence,[10][11][12][13] Androcymbium is currently considered a separate genus.[14]

  • Colchicum agrippinum (probably a hybrid of garden origin)
  • Colchicum alpinum DC. in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck & A.P.de Candolle
  • Colchicum androcymbioides (Valdés) K.Perss.
  • Colchicum antepense K.Perss.
  • Colchicum antilibanoticum Gomb.
  • Colchicum arenarium Waldst. & Kit.
  • Colchicum arenasii Fridl.
  • Colchicum asteranthum Vassiliades & K.M.Perss.
  • Colchicum atticum Spruner ex Tommas.
  • Colchicum autumnale L.
  • Colchicum balansae Planch.
  • Colchicum baytopiorum C.D.Brickell
  • Colchicum bivonae Guss.
  • Colchicum boissieri Orph.
  • Colchicum bulbocodium Ker Gawl.
  • Colchicum burttii Meikle
  • Colchicum chalcedonicum Azn.
  • Colchicum chimonanthum K.Perss.
  • Colchicum chlorobasis K.Perss.
  • Colchicum cilicicum (Boiss.) Dammer
  • Colchicum confusum K.Perss.
  • Colchicum corsicum Baker
  • Colchicum cretense Greuter
  • Colchicum crocifolium Boiss.
  • Colchicum cupanii Guss.
  • Colchicum davisii C.D.Brickell
  • Colchicum decaisnei Boiss.
  • Colchicum doerfleri Halácsy
  • Colchicum dolichantherum K.Perss.
  • Colchicum eichleri (Regel) K.Perss.
  • Colchicum euboeum (Boiss.) K.Perss.
  • Colchicum fasciculare (L.) R.Br.
  • Colchicum feinbruniae K.Perss.
  • Colchicum figlalii (Varol) Parolly & Eren
  • Colchicum filifolium (Cambess.) Stef.
  • Colchicum freynii Bornm.
  • Colchicum gonarei Camarda
  • Colchicum graecum K.Perss.
  • Colchicum greuteri (Gabrieljan) K.Perss.
  • Colchicum haynaldii Heuff.
  • Colchicum heldreichii K.Perss.
  • Colchicum hierosolymitanum Feinbrun
  • Colchicum hirsutum Stef.
  • Colchicum hungaricum Janka
  • Colchicum ignescens K.Perss.
  • Colchicum imperatoris-friderici Siehe ex K.Perss.
  • Colchicum inundatum K.Perss.
  • Colchicum kesselringii Regel
  • Colchicum kotschyi Boiss.
  • Colchicum kurdicum (Bornm.) Stef.
  • Colchicum laetum Steven
  • Colchicum lagotum K.Perss.
  • Colchicum leptanthum K.Perss.
  • Colchicum lingulatum Boiss. & Spruner in P.E.Boissier
  • Colchicum longifolium Castagne
  • Colchicum lusitanum Brot.
  • Colchicum luteum Baker
  • Colchicum macedonicum Kosanin
  • Colchicum macrophyllum B.L.Burtt
  • Colchicum manissadjianii (Azn.) K.Perss.
  • Colchicum micaceum K.Perss.
  • Colchicum micranthum Boiss.
  • Colchicum minutum K.Perss.
  • Colchicum mirzoevae (Gabrieljan) K.Perss.
  • Colchicum montanum L.
  • Colchicum multiflorum Brot.
  • Colchicum munzurense K.Perss.
  • Colchicum nanum K.Perss.
  • Colchicum neapolitanum (Ten.) Ten.
  • Colchicum parlatoris Orph.
  • Colchicum parnassicum Sart., Orph. & Heldr. in P.E.Boissier
  • Colchicum paschei K.Perss.
  • Colchicum peloponnesiacum Rech.f. & P.H.Davis
  • Colchicum persicum Baker
  • Colchicum polyphyllum Boiss. & Heldr. in P.E.Boissier
  • Colchicum pulchellum K.Perss.
  • Colchicum pusillum Sieber
  • Colchicum raddeanum (Regel) K.Perss.
  • Colchicum rausii K.Perss.
  • Colchicum ritchii R.Br.
  • Colchicum robustum (Bunge) Stef.
  • Colchicum sanguicolle K.Perss.
  • Colchicum schimperi Janka ex Stef.
  • Colchicum serpentinum Woronow ex Miscz.
  • Colchicum sfikasianum Kit Tan & Iatroú
  • Colchicum sieheanum Hausskn. ex Stef.
  • Colchicum soboliferum (C.A.Mey.) Stef.
  • Colchicum speciosum Steven
  • Colchicum stevenii Kunth
  • Colchicum szovitsii Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
  • Colchicum trigynum (Steven ex Adam) Stearn
  • Colchicum triphyllum Kunze
  • Colchicum troodi Kotschy in F.Unger & C.G.T.Kotschy
  • Colchicum tunicatum Feinbrun
  • Colchicum turcicum Janka
  • Colchicum tuviae Feinbrun
  • Colchicum umbrosum Steven
  • Colchicum varians (Freyn & Bornm.) Dyer in B.D.Jackson
  • Colchicum variegatum L.
  • Colchicum wendelboi K.Perss.
  • Colchicum woronowii Bokeriya
  • Colchicum zahnii Heldr.

References

  1. ↑ "WCSP". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Colchicum - Define Colchicum at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.com.
  3. ↑ The Plant List, retrieved 27 May 2016
  4. ↑ Ciara Kleizen, Jeremy Midgley & Steven D. Johnson (2008). "Pollination systems of Colchicum (Colchicaceae) in Southern Africa: evidence for rodent pollination". Annals of Botany. 102 (5): 747–755. doi:10.1093/aob/mcn157. PMID 18723860.
  5. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Colchicum autumnale 'Nancy Lindsay'". Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Colchicum 'Pink Goblet'". Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Colchicum 'Rosy Dawn'". Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Colchicum 'Waterlily'". Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "Search results — The Plant List". theplantlist.org.
  10. ↑ John Manning, Felix Forest and Annika Vinnersten (2007). "The genus Colchicum L. redefined to include Androcymbium Willd. based on molecular evidence". Taxon. 56 (3): 872–882. JSTOR 25065868.
  11. ↑ Karin Persson (2007). "Nomenclatural synopsis of the genus Colchicum (Colchicaceae), with some new species and combinations". Botanische Jahrbücher. 127 (2): 165–242. doi:10.1127/0006-8152/2007/0127-0165.
  12. ↑ Alberto del Hoyo, José Luis García-Marín & Joan Pedrola-Monfort (2009). "Temporal and spatial diversification of the African disjunct genus Androcymbium (Colchicaceae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 53 (3): 848–861. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.08.005. PMID 19699811.
  13. ↑ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  14. ↑ "WCSP". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved February 10, 2014.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Colchicum.
Wikispecies has information related to: Colchicum
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.