Description
(antalyensis of horticulture)
The blue, yellow and white plants grown in horticulture as Crocus antalyensis have been separated off as a separate species in the current fad for describing every slight Crocus variation as a new species. For once however this does appear to be a sensible description. The new species has a distribution within Turkey which is much more to the north of the range of what is now regarded as C. antalyensis proper. C.antalyensioides is certainly easier and hardier in cultivation as well as being more robust in growth with larger flowers which may explain its recent, wider spread in cultivation.
Both this and the white forms appeared in seed-raised stock of the blue form of Crocus antalyensis which in turn was raised from a stock originally produced by Willem van Eeden in the Netherlands. The yellow forms vary considerably from strong deep yellow, like flavus, to paler primrose ‘Citron’ forms. Some are shaded with bronze flecks externally many are plain.
Erich Pasche knows the species in the wild and says that Crocus antalyensis is very variable in nature, so that blue is not the typical colour for it.
There is a similar situation in Crocus danfordiae where all three colour forms, blue, white and yellow are known in the wild also.
