About Crocus heuffelianus Herb.
Herbarium specimens examined: In ITALY - Friuli Venezia Giulia: In the Alpi Giulie, on Caporetto M. Matajur, a specimen was collected on 29 May 1889 by Marchesetti (FI!, original label lacks identification). Near San Pietro, multiple specimens were collected by Minio between January 1897 and March 1903, initially mis - identified as C. vernus. In Leonacco, Buttrio, Moruzzo, and Travagnacco - Leonacco, specimens were collected by De Gasperi between 1907 - 1909, with some under the name C. vernus var. albiflorus. In Gorizia, a specimen was collected on 18 March 1979 by L. Feoli - Chiapella (FI!, original label lacks identification). In Friuli Venezia Giulia, Prepotto, near the Santuario di Castelmonte (46.09287 N, 13.51400 E), at 580 - 590 m, specimens were collected on 24 March 2016 by L. Peruzzi & K. F. Caparelli (FI!, PI!). In Veneto, at Vignole di Sedico (Belluno), in a beech forest at 380 m, a specimen was collected on 5 March 2010 by Argenti (FI!, mis - identified as C. vernus subsp. vernus). Notes on Italian distribution: Crocus heuffelianus has not been previously recorded in the Italian flora. The Italian records (Fig. 1) represent the new western limit of the species' geographic range. Plants like those documented here have not been previously reported in Veneto, and in Friuli Venezia Giulia, they were previously mis - identified as either C. neapolitanus or C. vernus subsp. vernus in regional floristic literature. While C. vernus s. str. is common in the mountains of these two regions, C. neapolitanus should be excluded from the flora of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
