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Colchicum autumnale
Also called Meadow saffron, Naked lady, Naked Ladies, Colchicum
Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) is a poisonous, autumn-flowering bulb that is not a true crocus and is not the source of saffron. It is grown as an ornamental in temperate gardens, where the key is to plant the corms and keep them away from children and pets.
Colchicum autumnale, commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron, naked boys or naked ladies, is a toxic autumn-blooming flowering plant that resembles the true crocuses, but is a member of the plant family Colchicaceae, unlike the true crocuses, which belong to the family Iridaceae. It is called "naked boys/ladies" because the flowers emerge from the ground long before the leaves appear. Despite the vernacular name of "meadow saffron", this plant is not the source of saffron, which is obtained from the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus – and that plant, too, is sometimes called "autumn crocus".
The species is cultivated as an ornamental in temperate areas, in spite of its toxicity. The cultivar 'Nancy Lindsay' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Colchicum is lethally toxic due to its colchicine content. Its leaves have been mistaken by foragers for those of Allium ursinum (ramsons or wild garlic), which they vaguely resemble.
This plant (and colchicine itself) poses a particular threat to felines. The corms of meadow saffron contain the highest level of toxins, but all parts of the plant are regarded as poisonous.
C. autumnale is the only species of its family native to Great Britain and Ireland, with notable populations under the stewardship of the County Wildlife Trusts. It also occurs across mainland Europe from Portugal to Ukraine, and is reportedly naturalised in Sweden, European Russia, and New Zealand. It grows in lowland grassy meadows.
Alpine 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 · Large Leaved Autumn Crocus
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Colchicum autumnale 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
