Crocus banaticus

Endemic to Romania and neighbouring regions (Serbia, Ukraine), where it grows in meadows and open deciduous woodland, Crocus banaticus (Iridaceae) is so distinctive that it forms its own subgenus, Crociris. In autumn, before the leaves appear, the corm produces lilac to pale violet flowers with six unequal tepals: the three outer ones, broad and spreading, contrast with the three inner ones, markedly shorter, giving an iris-like silhouette. Grass-like foliage follows afterward. It requires part shade, cool, well-drained, humus-rich soil, and summer dormancy.