Crocus
Crocus sativus is a beautiful flower with stigma highly valued for its use as a spice.
Scientific Name: Crocus sativus
Common Name: Saffron
Plant Family: Iridaceae (Iris Family)
Etymology: The word saffron comes from the Arabic word za'faran, meaning "yellow."
Traditional Uses
The most common use for saffron is as a spice. It has provided a desirable flavor and aroma for many dishes across the Mediterranean and Asia. A gold-colored dye made from saffron has been used for royal garments in several different cultures. Saffron was even used as a perfume in Greek and Roman bathhouses.
Medicinal uses
Saffron contains compounds and chemicals that can provide a wide range of benefits for the human body. These include anti-inflammatory properties, increased oxygenation of tissues, decrease in blood pressure, and even an anti-cancer effect.
Edible Parts
The only edible part of the saffron flower is the stigma. Each flower only has three stigma which can be harvested. After the stigma are dried, they can be used as a spice. The floral flavor it provides works well in a wide variety of dishes.
Gathering and Using
The stigma is harvested in early autumn. To harvest you must cut the flowers open in the morning before they bloom and remove each of the stigma by hand. The stigmas are then dried and stored until being sold or used. The extremely low yield and intense labor required to harvest the stigma contribute to its extreme price.
Permaculture Functions and Considerations
Crocus sativus is a plant that requires a lot of energy to produce little yield. It is a hardy plant and doesn’t require much attention if grown in dry soil and watered the right amount. Because of the energy required to cultivate and harvest saffron it is not commonly seen in permaculture systems.
Habitat
There are no Crocus sativus flowers in the wild since they are unable to naturally reproduce and must be propagated by the farmers who grow them. Crocus sativus grows best in loose well-watered clay to sandy soils. It prefers full sun and responds well to planting in raised beds for increased drainage.
How to Identify
It’s a small flower growing 2-4 inches in height. Each plant produces three to four purple flowers and each of the four flowers grows three red stigmas.
Wildlife Support
The corms and stigma are enjoyed by mice, rabbits, groundhogs, chipmunks, and voles.
Additional Information
Across several periods of history saffron has been worth more than its weight in gold and it is still the most expensive spice in the world.