The flowering plant traditionally used as the source of colchicine is the autumn crocus.
The autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) is not a true crocus, despite its common name and crocus-like flowers. It belongs to the family Colchicaceae and produces colchicine, a toxic alkaloid that reduces inflammation by interfering with microtubules. In medicine, purified colchicine is used chiefly to treat and prevent gout attacks and for several other inflammatory conditions.
Colchicum preparations have a long medical history. Descriptions of the plant’s medicinal use appear in the Ebers Papyrus, an Egyptian text dating to around 1500 BC, while the Greek physician Dioscorides described colchicum as a gout remedy in the first century AD. The compound itself was isolated in 1820, and its name comes from Colchis, an ancient region on the eastern Black Sea.
A common mix-up is with the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), which supplies saffron spice and is unrelated. Autumn crocus is poisonous; confusing the two plants can be dangerous.