There are four types of saffron blooming in the fall in the Sochi National Park, all of them belong to the Iris family.
«Three species grow exclusively in alpine meadows, and one species is found both in the highlands and in the foothill forests, and its flowering can be observed in the vicinity of Sochi even in November. This is a beautiful saffron, it is included in the Red Data Books of the Russian Federation and the Krasnodar Territory. The number of the species in Sochi is extremely low,» said in the Sochi National Park.
The saffron (Crocus vallicola) is found in the Sochi National Park on the Aishkha ridge, Aibga ridge, near the Khmelevsky lakes. Locally capable of forming dense cover, but the total area occupied by the species in the region is small. The flowers are pale milky in color or with a slight yellowish tinge, from the inside with light purple veins and near the throat with two orange spots. Blooms from early September until snow falls.
Another type of saffron that can be found in September in the Sochi National Park is Suvorov's saffron (Crocus x suworowianus C.Koch.). It is characterized by light yellow flowers, from the inside with light purple veins and with two orange spots near the throat.
