Colchicum hungaricum

Colchicum hungaricum, or Hungarian meadow saffron, is a small bulbous plant native to the Balkan Peninsula (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece), with an isolated, northernmost population in Hungary on Szársomlyó Hill. It grows in karst limestone grassland and bushy steppe, on shallow rendzina soils in warm, south-facing situations. About 10 cm tall, it produces cup-shaped, white to pinkish-lilac flowers in very late winter or earliest spring, ahead of the foliage. It is grown in full sun, on well-drained, calcareous soil, and becomes dormant in summer after flowering.