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A bulbous perennial of the Colchicaceae family, this species is native to Turkey and the Near East, where it occupies grassy slopes, rocky lawns, and well-exposed limestone slopes, generally between 800 and 2,000 meters in altitude. Its Latin epithet alone summarizes the most immediately striking characteristic of the plant: it is one of the largest species of the genus, both in terms of the size of its corms and its flowers.
The flowers, from light pink-lilac to medium pink, have broad, oval and well-opened tepals, forming a wide and elegant funnel. They emerge directly from the ground in autumn, without leaves, borne by a long whitish perigonial tube. The foliage, very developed, broad and upright, of a bright and shiny green, appears only in the following spring before disappearing in early summer.
In its natural habitat, flowering extends from September to October. In cultivation, it generally occurs from September to November. The entire plant is toxic.
It requires a deep, well-drained soil, in full sun exposure, and tolerates summer drought well. Planted in groups in a rock garden or lawn, the amplitude of its emerging solitary flowers produces a striking effect in a late season.