Crocus corsicus

Crocus corsicus is also known as the Corsican saffron crocus, due to the local use of the red stigmas from its flowers to prepare a spice. Originating from Corsica and Sardinia, this species is not very resistant to cold and damp weather. It thrives in dry summers, making it more suitable for gardeners in warm regions or for cultivation in pots. Its lovely pink-purple flowers with red stigmas bloom for over a month, from winter to summer depending on the climate, emitting a pleasant honey scent. It can be planted in rocky, slightly acidic to acidic soil in a gravel garden or rockery, where it will slowly naturalise.

Crocus corsicus is a botanical species closely related to C. minimus, which is mainly distinguished by its yellow-orange stigma instead of red. Like all crocuses, it belongs to the Iridaceae family. Its natural habitat consists of rocky slopes and scrubland in Corsica, from the coast to the mountains. In this region, it blooms from December-January to March, in acidic soil. When cultivated in different climates, the plant flowers from March to August. British crocus enthusiasts claim that this species can be grown in the ground in southern England, in well-drained soil. The deciduous foliage emerges from the ground before the flowers. It consists of slender linear leaves, which are single and alternate. They are dark green with prominent white central veins. Each bulb produces 1 to 2 long flowers measuring 3 to 4cm (1 to 2in). Shaped like elongated cups, they first display their mauve-pink-lilac undersides with beautiful violet-purple markings. Then they open into a star shape with 6 branches. It is not uncommon for the 3 outer sepals to be cream-yellow in colour, veined with purple on the outside. The centre of the flower is filled with stamens grouped in a 'tube'. The flowers close at night and in bad weather, but open wide in the sun and even in partial shade. The leaves dry up shortly after flowering, while the bulb enters a dormant state. The 'bulbs' here are corms. In plant morphology, a corm is an underground storage organ that resembles a bulb but is formed by a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocus corsicus will delight collectors of rare plants. In a mild climate garden, it thrives in rockeries and at the base of bushes, when its radiant flowering emerges as a beautiful surprise. It will thrive in well-drained soil, on the edge of light woodland with Corsican hellebore, for example. It can also be planted along a pathway, or en masse at the base of deciduous trees (lilac, mock orange, smoke bush) with Anemone blanda and Cyclamen coum, or in a raised bed, and of course, paired with other early-flowering crocuses.

Crocus roots can contract like a spring, allowing the plant to settle at its ideal depth.