Description
(oreocreticus x cartwrightianus)
A lovely new hybrid of two, related and similar Greek species. The seed parent came from the high mountains of Crete, the pollen donor is from the mainland and close-lying Greek islands (in this case from the populations found in our CEH612 collection made in 1982 in the south of Evvia). The throat of the flowers is pubescent like C. cartwrightianus, but the flowers close at night unlike that plant.
The offspring combine the best of both plants, making superbly marked and violet-feathered flowers with a violet ground colour contrasted with long red styles and vivid, chrome-yellow anthers. Deep in the throat is an intense indigo-violet zone spreading up each petal. This is also a good saffron source, and inheriting the hardy qualities of C. oreocreticus, it is a good one for a well-drained, sunny spot in full sun in the garden. This clone was selected and named by Antoine Hoog in 2016 from one of his 1995 sowings of Crocus oreocreticus seed which had subsequently been grown on.
Introduced to our lists in April 2017
