Colchicum bulbocodium, the spring meadow saffron, is a species of alpine bulbous plant native to mountain ranges across Europe from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus (Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Romania, the former Yugoslavia, Ukraine and southern European Russia). It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in many places. It has flowers considered ideal for the rock garden, which is beautiful en masse. The plant is a hardy spring flower bulb, very small in size, reaching about 7–10 cm high. From April to June, the strap-shaped leaves emerge with pink-to-purple crocus-like flowers, 3–8 cm in diameter. As all the species of the genus Colchicum, the species is a poisonous plant. Subspecies and varieties Three infraspecific taxa of the species are currently recognized: Colchicum bulbocodium subsp. bulbocodium var. bulbocodium var. edentatum (Schur) K.Perss (syn. Bulbocodium edentatum Schur.) is indigenous to Romania. Colchicum bulbocodium subsp. versicolor (Ker Gawl.) K. Perss. (syn. Bulbocodium versicolor (Ker Gawl.) Spreng.) is native in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. The plant is in all its parts smaller than Colchicum bulbocodium subsp. bulbocodium. References External links Bulbocodium vernum Botanica Sistematica bulbocodium Alpine flora Flora of the Alps Flora of the Pyrenees Flora of Spain Flora of France Flora of Italy Flora of Switzerland Flora of Austria Flora of Hungary Flora of Romania Flora of Ukraine Flora of Russia Flora of Slovenia Flora of Croatia Flora of Bosnia and Herzegovina Garden plants of Europe