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Colchicum
Also called Naked Ladies, Pajama Flowers
Colchicum is a genus of about 160 perennial species grown from bulb-like corms, with crocus-like autumn or spring flowers. Most garden colchicums bloom without leaves, and they are grown outdoors in borders, lawns and rock gardens.
Colchicum ( KOL-chik-əm or KOL-kik-əm) is a genus of perennial flowering plants containing around 160 species which grow from bulb-like corms. It is a member of the botanical family Colchicaceae, and is native to West Asia, Europe, parts of the Mediterranean coast, down the East African coast to South Africa and the Western Cape. In this genus, the ovary of the flower is underground. As a consequence, the styles are extremely long in proportion, often more than 10 cm (4 in). All species in the genus are toxic.
Temperate colchicums are commonly grown in gardens as ornamental flowers. Species found in cultivation include:
There are also cultivars and hybrids such as:-
Plants in this genus contain toxic amounts of the alkaloid colchicine which is used pharmaceutically to treat gout and familial Mediterranean fever. The use of the roots and seeds in traditional medicine is thought to have arisen due to the presence of this drug.
Alpine Autumn Crocus · Autumn crocus · White Autumn Crocus · Colchicum boissieri · Spring Meadow Saffron · False Autumn Crocus · Tenore Autumn Crocus · Colchicum davisii · Colchicum hungaricum · Colchicum kotschyi · Colchicum lingulatum · Indian Colchicum
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Colchicum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
