Flowering Time	Autumn
Distribution	Crimea; Caucasus; N Iran; C & N Turkey
Native Climate	Cold winter, warm summer but with regular rainfall
Wild Habitat	Woodland, pastures, short mountain turf
Distinctive Features	Flower lilac blue, veined darker, many branched style. Corm tunic coriaceous splitting into rings at base
Closest Relatives	Crocus speciosus ilgazensis Crocus speciosus xantholaimos Crocus pulchellus
Cultivation Requirements	Tolerant of garden conditions given some sun and avoiding waterlogging
Availability	Widely available from specialists and garden retail outlets

Easy and cheap (in the UK at least) but prone to flopping over and easily damaged by bad weather. This shortcoming can be overcome to some extent by planting in grass, although late summer grass cutting must be done with caution! Increases by producing many small cormlets.

Horticultural Trade Crocus speciosus

Crocus speciosus grown from wild collected seed

Corms showing smooth tunic with basal rings