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Crocus sieberi
Sieber's crocus is a small, early-blooming bulbous perennial from the Balkans and Crete that naturalises readily. Plant the corms in autumn in well-drained soil in full sun or light shade for reliable spring flowers.
Crocus sieberi, Sieber's crocus, also referred to as the Cretan crocus or snow crocus (as is Crocus chrysanthus), is a plant of the genus Crocus in the family Iridaceae. A small, early blooming crocus, it easily naturalises, and is marked by a brilliant orange which is mostly confined to the stamens and style, fading through the bottom third of the tepal. It grows wild generally in the Balkans: Greece, especially in the island of Crete, Bulgaria, Albania and North Macedonia. There are four subtypes: sieberi (Crete), atticus (Attica area around Athens), nivalis and sublimis. Its cultivars are used as ornamental plants. Height: 3–4 inches (7.6–10.2 cm).
Crocus sieberi is cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant for its flowers. It has also been used as food; in Greece the corms are eaten raw - with the flavor said to resemble hazelnuts. In Turkey, the leaves are eaten as greens.
Crocus alexandri · Cloth of gold · Crocus banaticus · Silvery Crocus · Wild Saffron · Snow Crocus · Corsican Crocus · Etruscan Crocus · Yellow crocus · Crocus goulimyi · Saffron Crocus · Bieberstein's Crocus
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Crocus sieberi 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.
