Brandushka or Spring Bulbocodium

Family: Colchicaceae. Brandushka occurs in the Mediterranean and the south of Eastern Europe, growing in a wide variety of biotopes on flood meadows, damp glades, in steppes and mountain meadows.

A very decorative plant. Brandushkas flower slightly later than the earliest small-bulbed species. Flowers usually number 2–3, rarely 4; they are lilac-pink, 4–6 cm in diameter and of the same length. The lower part of the flower is hidden underground. It blooms in early spring for more than 2 weeks, each flower lasting 8–10 days. The flowers are characterized by protogyny, that is, the pistil and the pollen mature at different times within the same flower. First the pistil matures, and the flowers at that time emit a strong scent; only afterward do the stamens with anthers develop. This mechanism prevents self-pollination of the flower. Leaves begin to develop simultaneously with the flowers, later overgrow them and elongate up to 20–30 cm; by the end of May they yellow and die back. The corm of brandushka is ovoid, with an elongated flattened base, like those of colchicums, 2–3 cm in diameter, covered with a leathery brown tunic. The fruit is a capsule. In cultivation since 1901.