Birth flower for September 12
Autumn crocus
Meaning: my best days are past
Its botanical name, Colchicum, comes from Colchis on the Black Sea — home of Medea, the poison-wise sorceress of Greek myth. It sends up bare flowers in autumn with no leaves in sight; the foliage only appears the next spring. The plant’s colchicine is still used to treat gout and has helped breeders create plants with doubled chromosomes, such as seedless watermelons.