Israel wildflowers: Fall Crocus

Crocus ochroleucus, Fall Crocus,
כרכום צהבהב

Scientific name:   Crocus ochroleucus Boiss. & Gaill.
Common name:   Fall Crocus
Hebrew name:   כרכום צהבהב
Family:   Iridaceae, Iris family, אירוסיים


Life form:   Geophyte, corm
Stems:   Without stem
Leaves:   All basal, rosette, narrow ensiform leaf with a white central stripe along the leaf axis, margin entire
Inflorescence:   Solitary
Flowers:   Hermaphrodite; 3 stamens and pollen, white or cream; anthers, yellow; styles for the most part three-forked, perianth lobes white, apart from a yellow-colored muzzle
Fruits / pods:   Capsule, numerous seeds
Flowering Period:   October, November, December
Habitat:   Mediterranean maquis and forest
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Crocus, Greek κρόκος, krokos “thread” and alludes to the stigmas,

In Hebrew it is called: karkom (כרכום), Aramaic kurkama (כרכמא), Persian and Arabic kurkum, all meaning saffron or saffron yellow. In Talmudic Hebrew, the verb כרכם meant “to be come yellow”.

ochroleucus, ochros, ωχροϛ, pale; leucos, λευκοϛ, bright, brilliant, clear; white, pale; pale yellow white.

  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.
  • The standard author abbreviation Gaill. is used to indicate Charles Gaillardot (1814 – 1883), a French surgeon and botanist.

Between rocks, sometimes on basalt soil.