Colchicum autumnale belongs to the family Colchicaceae.

Colchicum autumnale, also referred to as autumn crocus or meadow saffron, is a poisonous flowering plant that blooms in the fall and resembles true crocuses but is in the Colchicaceae plant family, as opposed to the true crocuses, which are in the Iridaceae family. Despite having the common name “meadow saffron”, Colchicum autumnale is not the source of saffron; rather, Crocus sativus, also known as the “fall crocus”, is where saffron is grown.

According to Maarten Christenhusz and James W. Byng in 2016, Colchicaceae is a family of flowering plants with 15 genera and a total of approximately 285 species. The inclusion of colchicine makes the family distinctive. Colchicine inhibits cells from dividing into spindles during mitosis, delaying the segregation of chromosomes during anaphase. Hence, colchicine prompts several sets of chromosomes.

Colchicine is used to prevent cell division in cancer therapy and in genetics, cytology, and plant breeding studies. It is also used to generate fertile crossbreeds between species with various numbers of chromosomes.

Plant breeders use colchicine to produce plants with the desired traits and to induce polyploidy.

Drug colchicine is used to treat pain and inflammation. It can be applied to treat gout attacks.

Read Also:

• Solanaceae, Fabaceae, Liliaceae: Family Description
• Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Poaceae – Angiosperm Families
• Flashcards for NEET Biology – Morphology of Flowering Plants

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