Crocus-biflorus-ssp-biflorus_21

Description:

Crocus biflorus Mil. ssp. biflorus, syn.: Crocus annulatus var. biflorus (Mill.) Herb., Crocus argenteus SabineFamily: IridaceaeEN: Silvery Crocus, Scotch Crocus, DE: Zweibltiger KrokusSlo.: dvocvetni efran Dat.: Jan. 18. 2022Lat.: 46.21 Long.: 13.69 (approximate coordinates)Code: Bot_1427/2022_DSC00035Habitat: Pasture, close to forest edge; moderately inclined mountain slope, southwest aspect; calcareous, colluvial ground; shallow layer of rendsina; open, sunny, dry place, elevation 205 m (670 feet); average precipitations ~ 2.300 mm/year, average temperature 9-10 deg C, alpine phytogeographical region. Substratum: soil.Place: Between villages Gabrje and Volarje northwest of Tolmin, left bank of river Soa, above the main road, East Julian Alps, Posoje, Slovenia EC. Comment (pertains to Flickr album Crocus biflorus ssp. biflorus): This beautiful and tender, very early blooming flower is a rare find in Slovenia. So rare that it has not yet been put into the Red list of protected species in Slovenia. It was described to the first time about fifteen years ago. Only a few stands in western Slovenia near the border to Italy are known up to now. Its taxonomy is still not agreed among professionals. More than 20 different subspecies and variants have been described up to now. However, recent molecular studies (see Ref.: 3) seems to make a great havoc in the traditional views. Also data on the distribution of this species in literature are contradictory. KEW (Ref.: 4) considers this species constrained and endemic to Italy, while GBIF (Ref.: 5) states its occurrences from UK, Scandinavia, several European countries, Turkey, Iran, etc. Aeschimann et al. 2004 (Ref.: 6) considers it as southeastern European and northwestern Asian taxon. These pictures show the stands, which were discovered last year (Ref.: 2). They represent the first find in the Julian Alps as well as in the whole eastern and central part of the Alps. Ref.:(1) Personal communication with Dr. Igor Dakskobler, Scientific Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Biological Institute Jovan Hadi, Tolmin.(2) Dakskobler, I., 2021: Crocus biflorus Mill. subsp. biflorus - Nova nahajalia redke vrste v Posoju, prva v alpskem fitogeografskem obmoju, novost za floro Julijskih Alp (New localities of a rare species, the first in the Alpine phytogeographical region of Slovenia, novelty in the flora of the Julian Alps), Hladnikia 47: 1734.(3) Harpke, D., Kerndorff, H., Pasche E., Peruzzi, L., 2016: Neotypification of the name Crocus biflorus Mill. (Iridaceae) and its consequences in the taxonomy of the genus, Phytotaxa 260(2):131-143.(4) KEW; powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:436480-1 (accessed Jan. 19. 2022)(5) GBIF; www.gbif.org/species/2747340 (accessed Jan. 19. 2022)(6) D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, D.M. Moser, J.P. Theurillat, Flora Alpina, Vol. 2., Haupt (2004), p 1094.