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Tag Archives: Autumn crocus

That other Naked Lady

13 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Amaryllis belladonna, Autumn crocus, Belladonna lily, Colchium autumnale, Naked Ladies, Roath Park

When I posted last Friday on the Naked Ladies of Roath and Bute, my gardening friends were quick to point out that, as well as the Autumn crocus, Colchium autumnale, there is another flower that also has the common name Naked Lady … and here she is, Amaryllis belladonna, found flaunting her gorgeous pinkness outside the glasshouse at Roath Park on yesterday’s walk. Though a South African native, the Belladonna lily, as she’s also commonly called, can be found in gardens and parks throughout the world. Her large showy blooms appear in the autumn, with the narrow strap-shaped leaves following a little after the flowers.

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The Naked Ladies of Roath and Bute

09 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by sconzani in nature, wildflowers

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Autumn crocus, Bute Park, Colchium autumnale, Naked Boy, Naked Ladies, Roath Park, Son-of-the-father

My colleagues at my voluntary job raised their eyebrows and smirks appeared on a couple of faces when I said I was going to photograph Naked Ladies after work last Tuesday, but it was true. I’d seen some in Cardiff’s Roath Park the previous weekend and I wanted to see if they were also performing in Bute Park … and they were!

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Of course, I’m referring to the Autumn crocus, Colchium autumnale … what were you thinking?! As well as the common name Naked Ladies, they are also known as Naked boys and Sons-before-the-father because of their growth habit – they produce leaves in the springtime that die back over the summer and then flower, leafless, in the autumn. Their scientific name comes from Colchis, a place in Georgia from where they are believed to have originated, and they are not actually crosuses at all (crocuses are Iridiceae not Colchicaceae).

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Though many of the flowers I saw had been nibbled, presumably by squirrels or slugs, the colchicine chemical these Naked Ladies contain is extremely poisonous and many people have died over the years from mistaking the leaves for wild garlic. Look, admire, enjoy but don’t touch!

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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