Friday, April 12, 2013

Crocus - spring in the Carpathians!

How many petals does crocus have? That was the question my mom asked watching in close-up unusual, as it turned out, crocuses on Siwa Polana in the Western Tatras. Most of us has never thought about it but the genned up person will respond that six. 

We can also find unambiguous statement in the professional literature of nature. So how do we explain the fact that there are seven or even eight petals of the flower crocus? That specimens have been observed in the Tatra clearings for many years. Crocuses with an abnormal number of petals are a tiny minority but a skilled observer will find it pretty quickly. Does it mean that the crocus longiflorus , one of the most popular flowers of the Tatra Mountains, has mutated? Probably no - the phenomenon is observed in terms of the variability characteristics which sometimes have become more noticeable but usually there are only episodes such as in the case of four-leaf clover. 

So we can peacefully go to the Tatra Mountains in April, for example to the Chocholowska Valley to admire crocus meadows and by the way bend down and count how many petals has each flower. Right now in the mountains is still a lot of snow, but any day of rain and warm winds will make the crocuses start to slowly grow out of the ground ...  

Spring is coming!

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