Crocuses are not only valued because of their wide variety of colors. The flowers are very robust and even unfold in the snow. Since the first crocuses develop flowers in February, they are particularly popular as harbingers of spring.
What does a crocus flower look like?
Crocus flowers are solitary, up to 10 cm high and consist of a flower tube with several uniform petals. They vary in colors such as white, yellow, blue, purple and pink. Inside there are seed or stamen threads, usually yellow.
The appearance of the flower
The flowers of the crocus are solitary, even if in the dense sea of flowers it often looks as if entire tangles of flowers are growing there.
They consist of a flower tube that ends in several uniform petals. It can grow up to ten centimeters high. The colors of the flowers vary from pure white, through yellow, shades of blue, violet to newer varieties with pink flowers.
Seeds or stamens grow inside the flower, which are predominantly bright yellow, occasionally also white or dark colors.
Fruit node develops underground
Only when the crocus flowers have been pollinated by insects do the ovaries emerge from the ground. When this happens depends on the crocus species:
- Small flowering crocuses
- Large-flowered crocuses
- Autumn Crocuses
The ovaries are capsule fruits with three compartments in which the crocus seeds ripen. These seeds generally cannot be used for propagation. Self-seeding only occurs in the wild form of the crocus.
Dust filaments dangerous for animals
While the stamens of the saffron crocus plant are used in cooking as a seasoning and coloring agent, the native crocus stamens are not edible.
In humans, the crocus stamens cause at most mild abdominal pain. Small animals, on the other hand, can suffer serious symptoms of poisoning by ingesting crocus stamens.
Tips & Tricks
The crocus owes its name to the characteristic flower threads, which are usually yellow and protrude from the petals. “Krokos” is the Greek word for thread.
