Crocus kosaninii

Crocus kosaninii I've been reading a lot of Ruksans writings on bulbs lately and really enjoying it, so even though this is a spring bloomer and not in season I thought I would share it with you. From Janis Ruksans "Crocuses a complete guide to the Genus": Crocus kosaninii (2n=14) is a newer species named in honor of the famous Yugoslavian botanist Nedeljko Kosanin who described C. pelistericus and C. scardicus. It grows in lowland oak forest and mixed scrub within a limited area in Southern Serbia" The description of it's type habitat makes me think it would be a great naturalizer in Oregon. After all the Willamette valley is pretty much lowland Oak forest.....or it used to be. I make my living restoring native habitats in the valley and Oak Savannha is a pretty rare thing these days owing to the lack of forest fires that burned out the shrub and kept the Douglas Fir forests restricted to the foothills. Speaking of disappearing habitats, I've been working on a project to restore a native wet prairie, this is the rarest of the wetland ecotypes in the Willamette Valley. It's been a fun project, but I would really like to do a controlled burn on the parcel, unfortunately Salem Fire Department says no dice....It's on the final approach to McNary Field and they are worried the smoke could be dangerous for small planes. Talk about a challenge to restore a dissapearing ecosystem without the tools necessary. Anyway that's my rant for today, The weather has been lovely, 75 degrees and sunny, although as I type this a marine layer is pushing inland. Cheers, Mark Akimoff