Crocus

Crocus (English plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family comprising 90 species of perennials growing from corms. Many are cultivated for their flowers appearing in autumn, winter, or spring. Crocuses are native to woodland, scrub, and meadows from sea level to alpine tundra in central and southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, on the islands of the Aegean, and across Central Asia to Xinjiang Province in western China.

Etymology

The name of the genus is derived from the Greek κρόκος (krokos). This, in turn, is probably a loan word from a Semitic language, related to Hebrew כרכום karkōm, Aramaic ܟܟܘܪܟܟܡܡܐ kurkama, and Arabic كركم kurkum, which mean "saffron" (Crocus sativus), "saffron yellow" or turmeric (see Curcuma). The word ultimately traces back to the Sanskrit kunkumam (कुङ्कुमं) for "saffron" unless it is itself descended from the Semitic one. The English name is a learned 16th-century adoption from the Latin, but Old English already had croh "saffron".

Crocus (disambiguation)

Crocus may refer to:

See also

Chrocus

Chrocus or Crocus (fl. 260–306 AD) was a leader of the Alamanni in the late 3rd to early 4th centuries. In 260, he led an uprising of the Alamanni against the Roman Empire, traversing the Upper Germanic Limes and advancing as far as Clermont-Ferrand, and possibly as far as Ravenna, and he was possibly present at the Alamannic conquest of the Frankish town of Mende.

According to Gregory of Tours' History of the Franks, Chrocus was a famous king of his time and was responsible for a great deal of destruction throughout Gaul, most notably of all ancient temples located in Gaul, though this may have been exaggerated. One of the temples he allegedly tore down was called the Vasso Galatæ, a marvelous structure that once stood in Clermont.

Chrocus, with his troops, aided Constantine I's proclamation as emperor. In 306, he was present as a general in Roman service at the death of Constantius Chlorus in York, Britannia, and called for his son Constantinus to be declared the new Roman Emperor (Epitome de Caesaribus 41).