Crocus 'Golden Bunch'

Jane McGary janemcgary@earthlink.net
Wed, 30 Mar 2005 16:16:09 PST
Jim McK wrote:
in the Hoog list Jane cites, Golden Bunch is described
>as a 'selection' of Crocus ancyrensis. What does this word 'selection' mean?
>I'll bet that no one knows for sure. For instance, is 'Golden Bunch' - to
>take one extreme of the many possibilities - one particular clone of Crocus
>ancyrensis? Or -to take the opposite extreme - does 'Golden Bunch'
>correspond to the non-clonal progeny of a particularly nice seed-raised
>strain, perhaps from a localized, distinct wild population of Crocus
>ancyrensis?

"Selection" means that someone found an unusually good individual plant in 
a wild or, in this case, cultivated population and propagated it 
vegetatively, giving it a cultivar name. However, given the large numbers 
of crocuses that used to be sold as 'Golden Bunch' (they don't seem to be 
common in commercial lists any more), it seems unlikely that all of them 
are the same clone. There are instances (e.g., Fritillaria persica 
'Adiyaman') where bulbs are offered under the name of a superior clone, but 
what is supplied by SOME sellers (not all) is obviously an inferior clone 
or seedlings. Of course, tempting photos of the true plant are used to 
illustrate the catalog, no matter what the actual bulbs may represent.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA







More information about the pbs mailing list