Description
In 2014 a wide geographical range of the Crocus vernus complex was studied. As a result of this research many names have changed and there are some newly named species, In addition the study saw the re-emergence of many old names, formerly and incorrectly lumped together as synonyms, under the very broad umbrella name of “Crocus vernus”. The currently recognised species in the vernus complex are :- Crocus heuffelianus, ilvensis, neapolitanus, neglectus, siculus. In addition the name vernus is retained as a valid name for some plants.
At the same time that the species were being accurately defined, plants from snow-melt meadows and mountain pastures in Liguria and Tuscany, were recognised as a new species, Crocus neglectus. This remains as an exclusively Italian plant for now, until its reported presence in France is actually confirmed. Though the name is new, plants of this newly recognised species have been in cultivation for a long time under other names.
It has whitish to pale lilac and even purplish flowers. Some are slightly bicoloured, but within light and deep shades of the same colour, some are marked on the outside with a tiny, often barely discernible, “V” in others some light striping or feathering is evident on the inner segments and in one or two plants, this has been observed to be quite intense. The flowers appear in early spring, as the snows melt in its native mountains, or from February onward to late March in UK gardens. It has proven to be very cold-hardy and tough, though it can also be grown in pots under glass, when you can expect to see buds emerging from in early January. The corms are naturally quite small even when compared with closely related species.
Raised vegetatively from some corms gifted by a fellow enthusiast Michael Neumann with the collection number I3/08 (that is a capital “I” for Italy by the way, not the number 1) and the verbatim data supplied was “Italy, Liguria, 1,2 km ahead Autona on the path near the river, 550m. 24 March 2008“.
