Saffron crocus
Family Iridaceae
Crocus sativus, the saffron crocus (Cr. sativus 1), is an herb with narrow leaves with a white midrib, arising from a corm. The large purple-pink regular flowers are solitary, with 6 similar perianth segments, forming a tube at the base. There are 3 stamens and an inferior ovary bearing a branched style with 3 stigmas (Cr. sativus 2).
Distribution
Croccus is a native of the eastern part of the Mediterranean region and spread from there over Europe, India and China.
Use
The free branches of the style bearing the stigmas are picked by hand and dried, the product known as saffron. It takes about 150.000 stigmas to obtain 1 kg of it. In this way it was known already to the ancient Greek, Romans and Hebrews, who used it as a medicine, as a dye and in perfume. In the Middle Ages it was not only popular as a dye, but also as a disinfectant. Today saffron is used mainly as a colouring for cheese, butter, cake and confectionery; and to a lesser extent in cosmetics. The saffron croccus is cultivated on a large scale in Iran and Kashmir, and on a smaller scale in southern Europe.