Crocus neapolitanus

Mord. et Loisel

Crocus

IridaceaeFruitFlowersSpice/Beverage
Crocus neapolitanus
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Silas Wareham, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Silas Wareham
Crocus neapolitanus
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(c) mircogruppi, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by mircogruppi
Crocus neapolitanus
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no rights reserved, uploaded by Stephen James McWilliam

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Flowers - spice

The fruit is eaten as a snack, and the flowers are used as a spice.

Where to Find It

It needs a well-drained soil. It needs an open sunny position. It is resistant to frost but damaged by drought.

Australia, Balkans, Bosnia, Europe*, France, Italy, Mediterranean,

Countries: Andorra, Albania, Austria, Australia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Belarus, Switzerland, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Algeria, Estonia, Egypt, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Libya, Morocco, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, San Marino, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine

How to Identify

A plant that keeps growing from year to year. It grows 12 cm high and spreads 7 cm wide. The stems is slender, erect and flowering. The leaves are long, green and narrow. The flowers are white to purple. They are tube shaped and expand. They occur singly at the top of the plant.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from division.

Notes

There are about 80 Crocus species.

Names & Synonyms

Croco, Safran, Zafferano selvatico

References (4)
  • Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 299
  • Pieroni, A., 1999, Gathered wild food plants in the Upper Valley of the Serchio River (Garfagnana), Central Italy. Economic Botany 53(3) pp 327-341
  • Redzic, S. J., 2006, Wild Edible Plants and their Traditional Use in the Human Nutrition in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 45:189-232
  • Rivera, D. et al, 2006, Gathered Mediterranean Food Plants - Ethnobotanical Investigations and Historical Development, in Heinrich M, Müller WE, Galli C (eds): Local Mediterranean Food Plants and Nutraceuticals. Forum Nutr. Basel, Karger, 2006, vol 59, pp 18–74

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