Crocus Taxa Research Articles

Investigations on anatomical and morphological characteristics of some Crocus L. taxa around Abant Lake

In this study; the two Crocus L. taxa endemic to Bolu province, Crocus abantensis T. Baytop et Mathew and Crocus× paulineae Pasche & Kerndorff (hybrid) together with C. ancyrensis (Herbert) Maw subsp. ancyrensis, and C. olivieri J.Gay, were used to reveal their detailed leaf anatomical features. In view of these characteristics, it was aimed to determine the true parents of the hybrid and possible other hybrid taxa distributed in the south-southeast coasts Abant Lake. These two Crocus taxa, which are endemic to this region, have no previous anatomical studies. In this sense, deficiencies related to Crocus taxonomy have been completed. The main differences of C. × paulineae from the other taxa; having the thickest cuticle (3.80 µm), the longest parenchyma (20.93 µm) cell in the mesophyll, and having papillae like structure on the keel corners of cuticle. This structure was also observed in C. olivieri over the cuticle at the corners of the keel. The other important differences was the number of small vascular bundles among the studied taxa. The chromosomal number of hybrid was also given for the first time.

The seasonal development of Crocus in the Mari El Republic conditions

Crocuses are beautifully flowering corm-bearing plants. They begin the growing season immediately after the snow melts. The research contains the results of phenological observations of 2014-2019 for plants of 6 Crocus taxa in the conditions of the Mari El Republic. Cultivars with early, medium and late periods of phenophase passage were identified. A flowering phenospectrum of the studied crocuses has been compiled. Crocuses vegetate from mid-April to early June for 40-50 days, and bloom from the third decade of April to early May. C. chrysanthus 'Prince Cloues' is characterized by the earliest unfolding of leaves and a short duration of their growth. The greatest value for landscaping is C. versicolor, characterized by the longest growing season and the earliest flowering, as well as C. chrysanthus ' Romance’ and C. angustifolia, characterized by the longest flowering within 2 weeks. The flowering of C. sieberi 'Spring Beauty’ is unstable. The obtained data on the seasonal development of crocuses can be used when including them in rockeries, alpine slides and other flower beds in natural-style gardens.

Quantitation of Crocins and picrocrocin in saffron by HPLC: application to quality control and phytochemical differentiation from other crocus taxa.

A chromatographic method was developed and fully validated for the determination of the major saffron constituents, i.e., picrocrocin and five major crocins. Dried samples (styles of Crocus sativus and other Crocus taxa) were extracted with MeOH : water (1 : 1, v/v), and chromatographic separation of the analytes was achieved by reversed-phase chromatography using a gradient elution. Full validation was performed using spiked samples with analytes, which were isolated, purified, and characterized by MS due to a lack of commercial standards. The method showed a good fit (r2 > 0.999) for all analytes with limit of quantitation values in the range of 1-15 µg/mL, and demonstrated adequate intra- and inter-precision (< 15 % RSD) and accuracy (< 7 % RE). The method was applied to the analysis of various commercial saffron samples and of indigenous Crocus taxa and allowed for the first time the absolute quantitation of several Crocus components.

Genetic diversity of Crocus antalyensis B. Mathew (Iridaceae) and a new subspecies from southern Anatolia

Crocus antalyensis B. Mathew is a bulbous plant endemic to Turkey. It is morphologically variable within the western part of Anatolia. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) marker system was used to detect genetic variation among the Crocus taxa. Twenty-two primer combinations were used to screen for polymorphism among the samples. Genetic variation ranged from 0.44 to 0.69. We demonstrated the efficiency of the AFLP marker system for discriminating between individual C. antalyensis specimens. A high level of genetic variation was present among C. antalyensis specimens collected from different locations in Turkey. We also observed that C. antalyensis subspp. are genetically distinct from their relative Crocus flavus Haw. subsp. dissectus Baytop & B. Mathew. A new subspecies of C. antalyensis B. Mathew from southern Turkey is described. It is characterized by striped outer perianth segments, waist-shaped flowers, and glabrous throat of the perianth. A composite image of the new subspecies is presented.

Crocus ilvensis sp. nov. (sect. Crocus, Iridaceae), endemic to Elba Island (Tuscan Archipelago, Italy)

A new species of Crocus sect. Crocus is described as an endemic of Elba Island (Tuscan Archipelago, Italy): C. ilvensis Peruzzi &amp; Carta sp. nov. (2n=8). The new species was wrongly referred to C. corsicus Vanucchi (2n=18), C. etruscus Parl. (2n=8) or C. vernus Hill. subsp. vernus (2n=8, 16) by previous authors. Its karyotype structure, asymmetry and chromosome dimensions show affinity with C. etruscus, and no clear relations with other related taxa. From a morphological point of view, C. ilvensis appears intermediate between C. etruscus and C. vernus subsp. vernus, showing however a peculiar combination of character‐states. The new species is completely allopatric with other Crocus sect. Crocus taxa and its possible role in the origin of tetraploid races of C. vernus is discussed.

A morphological and anatomical investigation about two rare and endemic Crocus taxa (Iridaceae) from Southern Anatolia

The morphological and anatomical characteristics of Crocus reticulatus subsp. hittiticus and Crocus cancellatus subsp. lycius, which are under the danger of extinction, have been investigated. The distributions of the two endemic subspecies are limited in Turkey. The plant samples were collected from the South Anatolia Region. The subsp. hittiticus flowers in the early spring whereas subsp. lycius flowers in the autumn. Their corm tunics are coarsely reticulate-fibrous. The subsp. hittiticus has blackish anthers and purple striped outer segments. The subsp. lycius has flowers with very pale lilac coloured and veined. Also, the style of this subsp. is equal to their anthers. These morphological properties are characteristics for two the subspecies investigated. The transverse-sections of the root, stem and leaf parts of these subspecies have been examined and revealed. Their morphologic and anatomic structures are illustrated. The anatomic properties of the two subspecies have been determined to be similar to the anatomic properties of other species of the genus Crocus. Moreover, the crystal type on the organs of the subsp. lycius was investigated.

Cytotaxonomical studies on some Crocus L. taxa in Turkey

The present study investigated the chromosome number and morphology ofCrocus fleischeri Gay, C. pallasii Goldb subsp. pallasii, C. cancellatus Herbert subsp. lycius Mathew, C. pulchellus Herbert which are all belong to the Crocus L. taxa showing distribution in Western Anatolia in Turkey. Powder preparation was used as study method. Chromosome numbers and morphologies of the taxa were determined by examining the mitosis preparations. Furthermore, karyograms of taxa studied were made and examined in a detailed manner. In this study, it was found that the chromosome numbers of C. fleischeri, C. pallasii subsp. pallasii, C. cancellatus subsp. lycius and C. pulchellus were 2n = 20, 2n = 14, 2n = 16 and 2n = 12, respectively. Key words: Chromosome number, chromosome morphology, Crocus taxa,Turkey.