Crocus & Wheat Embryos
Steven (Thu, 07 Nov 2013 01:40:10 PST)

Thanks guys, that's all fascinating !

Steven : )

On 07/11/2013, at 5:26 PM, Peter Taggart <petersirises@gmail.com> wrote:

Colchicine is used to raise the ploidy of embryos.
I have read accounts of deaths from the eating of Clochicum bulbs and from
overdose of the medicine. Multiple organ failure and no remedy..... it is
absolutely horrific and does not require a lot of the plant or of the drug.

Though the Iris family is generally thought to be poisonous; not only
saffron is eaten, the corms of some Crocus are eaten as if they were nuts.
IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO CONFUSE COLCHICUM WITH CROCUS!!!

On Thu, Nov 7, 2013 at 3:39 AM, <arnold140@verizon.net> wrote:

Steve:

I think you'll find the drug colchicine in the "Autumn Crocus" better know
as Colchicum.

A great drug for the treatment of gout.

I can tell you that the wheat development program I assisted in a couple of
years could not have happened if not for crocus bulbs...the bulb contains
an extremely dangerous but useful compound called colchicine,which we used
to double chromosome a number of haploid wheat embryos

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