Family: crocuses (Iridaceae)
Blooming time: March–May
Size: 5–10 cm
Habitat: dry and moist meadows
Nunka (Crocus vernus ssp. albiflorus) is one of the two subspecies of the spring crocus (Crocus vernus), that occur in Slovenia.
Like other crocuses, nunka also does not have a developed above-ground stem and the flower shoots directly from the bulb hidden in the soil. The delicate flower is usually white; sometimes we also see one that is purple. The petals (measured from the end of the corolla tube upward) are 1.5 to 3.5 cm long. The dark green, striped leaves have a pale longitudinal stripe down the middle. The orange stripe on nunka is usually shorter than the dark yellow anthers, but this is not always the case. An exception in this regard is the white crocus in the picture, which shows us what diversity within the (sub)species means. The white crocus is a poisonous plant. It grows in meadows on rich, moist soils.
Except in the northeast, you can spot it all over Slovenia in early spring.
