Crocus ochroleucus, Fall Crocus,
כרכום צהבהב

Scientific name:  Crocus ochroleucus Boiss. & Gaill.
Common name:  Fall Crocus
Hebrew name:  כרכום צהבהב
Family:  Iridaceae, Iris family, אירוסיים

Crocus ochroleucus, Fall Crocus, כרכום צהבהב

Life form:  Geophyte, corm
Stems:  Without stem
Leaves:  All basal, rosette, narrow ensiform leaf with a white central stripe along the leaf axis, margin entire
Inflorescence:  Solitary
Flowers:  Hermaphrodite; 3 stamens and pollen, white or cream; anthers, yellow; styles for the most part three-forked, perianth lobes white, apart from a yellow-colored muzzle
Fruits / pods:  Capsule, numerous seeds
Flowering Period:  October, November, December
Habitat:  Mediterranean maquis and forest
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:  Mediterranean
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

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Derivation of the botanical name:
Crocus, Greek κρόκος, krokos "thread" and alludes to the stigmas,
In Hebrew it is called: karkom (כרכום), Aramaic kurkama (כרכמא), Persian and Arabic kurkum, all meaning saffron or saffron yellow.
In Talmudic Hebrew, the verb כרכם meant "to be come yellow".
ochroleucus, ochros, ωχροϛ, pale; leucos, λευκοϛ, bright, brilliant, clear; white, pale; pale yellow white.
  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.
  • The standard author abbreviation Gaill. is used to indicate Charles Gaillardot (1814 - 1883), a French surgeon and botanist.
Between rocks, sometimes on basalt soil.

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Crocus ochroleucus, Fall Crocus, כרכום צהבהב


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