Crocus banaticus and flower stems
Jane McGary (Wed, 22 Sep 2010 18:14:37 PDT)
Jim Waddick wrote,
Are there any crocus that develop flowering stems on the outside of
the corm direct from the basal plate? Do all crocus develop their
flowers from the center of the corm? Confused.
Some crocuses that form large corms produce several flowers here and
there around the corm. You can see this easily if you wait too long
to plant them! The stem, of course, is not present above ground at
anthesis (flowering) but it elongates while the seed is ripening (the
ovary is usually below the soil surface too. When the seed is ripe,
in some species the stem suddenly elongates and pops up the capsule.
This must be to prevent it being eaten while unripe. I think ants
usually carry the seeds away once they dehisce. There is quite a bit
of the crocus plant that most gardeners never notice, including all
the various types of leaves that have technical names such as
"prophyll" and "cataphyll." The whole structure is really pretty
complicated, as the drawings in Mathew's book show.
Jane McGary