Saffron

Crocus sativus

SIZE AND DESCRIPTION

Autumn-flowering plant with grass-like leaves that appear before the flowers. These are goblet-shaped, and lilac-purple with a yellowish throat; the prominent three-branched style is orange. Also called St Valentine’s Rose.

DISTRIBUTION

Does not exist in the wild. Possibly of eastern Mediterranean origin, selectively developed from C. cartwrightianus in ancient times.

USES

Well-known food dye imparting a sweet aroma and an orange-yellow colour to rice dishes, soups and cakes. Only the large styles are used, and at least 60,000 flowers are needed to yield a pound of Saffron. As a result, it has always been expensive, and today inferior substitutes such as Turmeric are often used instead.