Crocus banaticus

Crocus banaticus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Iridaceae
Subfamily:	Crocoideae
Genus:	Crocus
Subgenus:	Crociris
Species:	C. banaticus

Crocus banaticus, syn. C. iridiflorus, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the Iridaceae family, 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 4 cm (2 in).

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.^[2]

C. banaticus has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[3]

References

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