Colchicum autumnale Album - Autumn crocus

The Autumn Crocus or Colchicum autumnale 'Album' is a pure white flower form of Colchicum, quite rare in the wild. Its flowers resemble a giant, pure white crocus emerging directly from the ground in September without the foliage is absent. Its large, light green, wide and lanceolate leaves appear in spring and dry up in early summer, during the bulb's dormancy period. It is a very hardy perennial, which is easy to grow in a sunny position, in fertile, rather moist soil, with a tendency towards clay.

Colchicum autumnale Album, native to temperate Europe, is found in the wild in damp meadows. It is a perennial plant with a storage organ called a corm, belonging to the lily family. Although its flowers resemble those of crocuses, the colchicum has 6 stamens instead of 3 like the latter, which belong to the iris family. A corm is a swollen stem covered with scales, unlike a bulb, which is formed of thickened scales like in lilies or garlic. At maturity, the plant reaches 15-20 cm high. The foliage of the autumn crocus emerges in spring, in the form of 3 or 4 large smooth, light green in leaves, wrapped around a short stem. They measure up to 40 cm long and 5 to 6 cm wide. In the centre of the leaves, the large elongated fruits are carried by the central stem. The leaves disappear in early summer, marking the entry into dormancy of the corm. The flowering takes place in September, with each 'bulb' producing 1 to 6 large pure white cup-shaped flowers, 10 cm tall and 8 cm wide. They are composed of 6 pure white tepals that gradually open into stars and are followed by the formation of fruits which open to release round black seeds when ripe.

Colchicum autumnale Album is a somewhat nostalgic wild plant, which heralds the arrival of autumn and celebrates the advent of a beautiful late season, as September is one of the loveliest months of the year. It can be used in rockeries, in clear undergrowth but also in lawns alongside crocuses and muscari, in seasonal pots and autumn posies. It thrives better in mountainous, wet climates with distinct winters. All parts of the colchicum are toxic.