colchicine, the autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) , was described for treatment of rheumatism and swelling in the Ebers Papyrus (ca. 1500 B.C.), an Egyptian medical papyrus . [ 2 ] The use of the bulb-like corms of Colchicum for gout probably traces back to ca. 550 A.D., as the "hermodactyl" recommended