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Colchicum coloratum ssp. coloratum (Family: Colchicaceae) |
 
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Afrikaans: Bobbejaanskoen English: Cup and a saucer, Men-in-a-boat  |
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| Plant Type: |
 Bulb |
| Height: |
0.1m |
| Spread: |
0.1 - 0.3m |
| Rarity Status: |
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Common |
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| Preferred rainfall: |
Winter |
| Preferred position: |
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Full Sun |
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| Tolerated soil: |
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Sand (coarse texture, drains easily),
Clay (fine texture, holds a lot of water) |
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| Biome: |
Succulent Karoo |
| Toxicity: |
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The bulb has been found to be toxic, yet it has been used medicinally by the Southern Sothos as ointment for the sore ears |
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| Flowering time |
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Aug |
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Nov |
Dec |
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| Flower colours |
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Polinator |
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Small flies, wasps, beetles, butterflies and possibly rodents |
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Flower info |
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Bracts ovate to round, purplish red, with green bases and 1–5 pinkish flowers. Tepal blades concave at the base, shorter than the tepal claw, stamen twice as long as tepal blades. |
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| Leaf shape |
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Leaf info |
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Deciduous |
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Two flat leaves, 48–180 x 20–80 mm, never curled, and generally smooth sometimes with small hairs. |
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| Fruit type |
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Seed info |
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The ovary is cylindrical; deeply lobed, has three free styles and many ovules per locule. The fruit is an ovoid capsule that spilts open along the edges of each chamber (septicidal). |
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| Description |
Stemless geophyte up to 0.1 m tall.
1–5 pinkish flowers are found at the base of the ovate to round, purplish red bract. |
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| Growing |
Colchicums can be propagated from fresh seed. The seed will ripen very quickly in hot, dry weather.
It is more usual to plant the seed of winter growing geophytes in autumn (fall) at the commencement of the growing season, and to transplant the corms when dormant.
Plants will take about 4 years to flower if grown from seed.
These plants can also be increased by separating the cormels or offsets from the corms. This can be done as soon as the foliage has died down in early midsummer or before growth commences. |
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| Distribution |
The plant is found in the western Karoo and Bokkeveld Plateau. |
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| History |
These plants previously belonged to the genus Androcymbium but have since been included in Colchicum, which is the older name. DNA studies show that the species of Colchicum represent a single, specialised lineage or group that evolved from an ancestor within the genus Androcymbium. As such both genera must be included within one. |
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