Colchicums are commonly known as autumn crocuses, although there are also real Crocus species that flower in autumn - and there are a few Colchicum that flower in spring! Most of them have bright pink flowers, some of them with tessellated patterns of darker pink or purple, and there are varieties with pale pink or white flowers. In most cases the foliage appears in the spring, dying back in summer. See also varieties of Colchicum alpinum, and Merendera.

Colchicum macrophyllum AH 9806 is a rare species, attractive for its broad, shiny, pleated, bright green foliage, which has an architectural quality in the early summer. In autumn it has large, pale pink flowers, which are chequered with violet-purple. It is beautiful in both seasons. This collection was originally made in Hora Sfakion in Crete.