Colchicum (/ˈkɒltʃɪkəm/ KOL-chik-əm or /ˈkɒlkɪkəm/ KOL-kik-əm)[2] is a genus of perennial flowering plants containing around 160 species which grow from bulb-like corms.

Colchis features in Greek mythology as the land to which the Argonauts journeyed in quest of the golden fleece and where Jason encountered Medea.

The Greek toponym Colchis is thought by scholars to derive from the Urartian Qulḫa, pronounced "Kolcha" (guttural "ch" - as in Scots loch).

Species found in cultivation include: There are also cultivars and hybrids such as:- Those marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).

Plants in this genus contain toxic amounts of the alkaloid colchicine which is used pharmaceutically to treat gout and Familial Mediterranean fever.

[19] Many species previously classified in Androcymbium, Bulbocodium and Merendera were moved to Colchicum based on molecular genetic evidence.