Crocus honey plant

 

Crocus, (Crocus L.), Crocus is a genus of perennial corms Crocus honey plant of herbaceous plants of the Iris family, or Iridaceae.

 

Corms up to 3 cm in diameter, round or flattened, covered with scales, produce a bunch of root lobes, the structure and color of which vary among different species. 

The crocus stem does not develop. 

Crocus leaves are basal, linear, covered from below with vaginal scales, appear during or after flowering.

 

Crocus flowers are solitary, sometimes 2-3 from one corm, surrounded by membranous scales. The perianth is large, long funnel-shaped, the limb of the corolla consists of 6 lobes, turning into a long cylindrical tube. The stamens are attached to the pharynx of the perianth, shorter than it; the threads are short; anthers erect, linear, usually longer than filaments. The style is filamentous with three stigmas. 

Crocus fruits are three-lobed capsules, the seeds are small and angular. 

According to the color of the flowers, the species are divided into two groups: yellow-flowered (color from yellow to orange) and blue-flowered (color from light lilac to dark purple); Albino forms are also found - often in blue-flowered ones, less often in yellow-flowered ones.

 

A bee on a crocus collects pollen and nectar in early spring

 

Crocus blooms in early March to early April or autumn (in different species). In spring it blooms immediately after the snow melts. In the evening and in cloudy weather, the flowers close. The nectar-bearing tissue is located at the bottom of the flower, so the nectar is difficult for bees to access. However, bees readily visit crocuses, taking nectar and light brown or orange pollen. Crocus honey plant provides supporting honey flow in early spring and early spring pollen. 

Good honey plants include Crimean Crocus (C. tauricus), golden Crocus (C. aureus), beautiful Crocus (C. speciosus), and Pallass Crocus (C. pallasii). 

Crocus grows mainly in the steppes, on dry gravelly and fine-earth slopes, among shrubs in the mountainous regions of Central Asia, the Caucasus and Crimea. It grows in the mountain meadows of the Tien Shan, Dzungarian Alatau and adjacent areas.