By Manolis Afrathianakis*

It was a typical morning in late September 2022. Accompanied by friends and fellow enthusiasts of Crete's wild flora, including Antonis Alibertis and Marinos Gogolos, we were travelling through Arkalochori in the heart of the Heraklion prefecture. As we passed through the area, we noticed small clusters of plants breaking the arid and monotonous landscape. Intrigued, we exchanged glances and immediately grabbed our cameras. This particular plant seemed distinct from the well-known wildflowers of Crete.

Later in the afternoon, we conducted a thorough investigation. With the assistance of specialists Lefteris Kalpoutzakis, Sotiris Alexiou, and Ralf Jahn, the plant was identified as Colchicum balansae - Balansa Colchico (Photos 1 – 5), named in honour of the French botanist Benetict Balansa. It's worth mentioning that a plant was carefully uprooted for research and identification purposes but was subsequently replanted in its original location. In photos 4 and 5, you can observe the impressive 45 cm long root of the plant, with the bulb at its base.

Synonym: Colchicum candidum - Colchicum white.

Flowers whitish or pink. It blooms from late August to October.

It grows in the Dodecanese, Samos and Southwest Asia Minor (Photo 6: Distribution map)

NOW IN CRETE!

Therefore, a new species has been incorporated into the wild flora of Crete. A colchicum from the Colchicaceae family, bringing the total to six species from this family that thrive in Crete (Photo 7).

In a location intertwined with numerous memories from my childhood, this treasure was discovered—a place tested by the significant earthquake of September 2021. It's as if nature sought to alleviate the destruction, if only by a little bit.

*Mathematician at the Evening High School of Heraklion

Amateur scholar of the wild flora of Crete

manafrathian@yahoo.com