Colchicum ritchii, or the Egyptian autumn crocus, is a plant species native to the southeastern Mediterranean east to the Arabian Peninsula.

Colchicum ritchii grows from a corm which is oval measuring 2-3.5 cm across, and covered with a loose brown skin.

[1][4][5] Extracts from Colchicum ritchii are used in traditional medicine to treat arthritis, rheumatism, gout and abdominal colics.

[6] Bedouin children dig up the corms from the desert to sell them after drying them to herbalists in Alexandria and other Egyptian cities.

[7] The anti-inflammatory drug colchicine was originally extracted from closely related species to this plant in ancient Egypt.