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Colchicum corms contain colchicine, a powerful alkaloid that’s been used in pharmaceuticals for years.

The luminous goblet-shaped blossoms of Colchicum autumnale are a fresh, almost-bawdy pink — the blooms are sometimes called “naked ladies” because they show up abruptly, sans foliage, just as most plants are fading.

However, Colchicum are in the lily family and not a crocus at all.

At the San Francisco Botanical Garden, curator Don Mahoney plans to introduce colchicum into an area of the garden designed to mimic the growing conditions of the Mediterranean, which has the dry-in-summer quality that these bulbs prefer.

Colchicum bulbs will last for years in your yard, but they are a little perverse.