Morphological and leaf anatomical variability of Crocus cf. heuffelianus Herb. (Iridaceae) populations from the different habitats of the Balkan Peninsula

Crocus cf. heuffelianus Herb. belongs to the series Verni Mathew and presents one of the most complex and critical taxa within the whole genus Crocus L. Depending on different authors, C. cf. heuffelianus is sometimes split into different taxa (e.g., C. scepusiensis (Rehmer & Wol.) Borbás ex Kulcz., C. vittatus Schloss. & Vuk., nom. illeg.). In order to disentangle the complicated taxonomical status of this species and to determine the degree of its morphoanatomical variability in the different environmental conditions, a comparative investigation of plant morphology and leaf anatomy of seven populations from the Balkan Peninsula was carried out. Morphometric analysis included meristic, quantitative, and qualitative parameters.