''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as saffron crocus or autumn crocus,
[ is a ]species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the iris family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Iridaceae
Iridaceae is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the irises, meaning rainbow, referring to its many colours. There are 66 accepted genera with a total of c. 2244 species worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016). It include ...
. A corm
A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation).
The word ' ...
ous autumn-flowering cultivated perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
, unknown in the wild, it is best known for the culinary use of its floral stigmas as the spice saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...
. Human cultivation of saffron crocus and the trade and use of saffron Saffron is one of the world's most expensive spices by weight. Saffron consists of stigmas plucked from the vegetatively propagated and sterile ''Crocus sativus'', known popularly as the saffron crocus. The resulting dried "threads" are distinguish ...
have endured for more than 3,500 years and span different cultures, continents, and civilizations.
Common names
The plant is most commonly known as the saffron crocus. The alternative name autumn crocus is also used for species in the ''Colchicum
''Colchicum'' ( or ) is a genus of perennial flowering plants containing around 160 species which grow from bulb-like corms. It is a member of the botanical family Colchicaceae, and is native to West Asia, Europe, parts of the Mediterranean coas ...
'' genus, which are not closely related but strongly resemble the true crocuses; in particular, the superficially similar species ''Colchicum autumnale
''Colchicum autumnale'', commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron, or naked ladies, is a toxic autumn-blooming flowering plant that resembles the true crocuses, but is a member of the plant family Colchicaceae, unlike the true crocuses, whi ...
'' is sometimes even referred to as ''meadow saffron''. However, the true crocuses have three stamens and three styles, while colchicums have six stamens and one style; and belong to a different family, Colchicaceae
Colchicaceae is a family of flowering plants that includes 15 genera with a total of about 285 known species according to Christenhusz and Byng in 2016.
Description
The family is characterized by the presence of colchicine.
Taxonomy
The APG III ...
. Colchicums are also toxic, making it particularly crucial to distinguish them from the saffron crocus.
Morphology
''Crocus sativus'' develops as an underground corm
A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation).
The word ' ...
, which produces leaves, bracts
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
, bracteole, and the flowering stalk. It generally blooms with purple flowers in the autumn. The plant grows about 10 to 30 cm high.[Mollazadeh, Hamid "Razi's Al-Hawi and saffron (Crocus sativus): a review". Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences, Dec 2015.]
Genetics
Saffron crocus is a triploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei ( eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contain ...
with 24 chromosomes (2''n'' = 3''x'' = 24), making the plant sexually sterile due to its inability to pair chromosomes during meiosis. Its most probable ancestor is the wild species ''Crocus cartwrightianus
''Crocus cartwrightianus'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, native to mainland Greece and Crete. It is a cormous perennial growing to . The flowers, in shades of lilac or white with purple veins and prominent red stigmas, ...
''. Although ''C. thomassi'' and ''C. pallasii'' are still being considered as potential predecessors or genetic contributors,[ these hypotheses have not been successfully verified by chromosome] and genome comparisons.
Domestication
It is thought that the domesticated saffron crocus most likely arose as a result of selective breeding from the wild ''C. cartwrightianus'' in the southern portion of mainland Greece. An origin in Western or Central Asia, although often suspected, is not supported by botanical research.
Use
The stigmas of the flower are used as the culinary spice saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...
. Depending on the size of harvested stigmas, the flowers of between 50,000 and 75,000 individual plants are required to produce about 1 pound of saffron; each corm produces only one or two flowers, and each flower produces only three stigmas. Stigmas should be harvested mid-morning when the flowers are fully opened.
Cultivation
As a sterile triploid, ''C. sativus'' is unknown in the wild and relies upon manual vegetative multiplication for its continued propagation. Because all cultured individuals of this plant are clonal, there is minimal genetic diversity from the single domestication event, making it quite hard to find cultivars with new, potentially beneficial properties, let alone combine them by breeding. Cultivars of saffron are nevertheless produced by a number of means:
* Clonal selection. Any plant with a desirable mutation is kept and further grown. This is the traditional approach.
* Mutation breeding Mutation breeding, sometimes referred to as "variation breeding", is the process of exposing seeds to chemicals, radiation, or enzymes in order to generate mutants with desirable traits to be bred with other cultivars. Plants created using mutagene ...
. Mutagenesis can be used to cause a wide range of mutations to select from. The traditional clonal process follows.
* Sexual reproduction. Breeding for desirable features is much easier in fertile plants.
** Although the plant is not self-fertile, some wild relatives can be successfully cross-pollinated with saffron pollen ''in vitro'' and form seeds. This creates fertile diploid plants containing genomic material from ''C. sativus'', allowing new traits to be explored via further cross-pollination.[
** Chromosome doubling could in principle also create a fertile ]hexaploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...
plant. Such a change may be possible via colchicine
Colchicine is a medication used to treat gout and Behçet's disease. In gout, it is less preferred to NSAIDs or steroids. Other uses for colchicine include the management of pericarditis and familial Mediterranean fever. Colchicine is taken ...
.
Corms of saffron crocus should be planted apart and in a trough deep. The flower grows best in areas of full sun in well-drained soil with moderate levels of organic content. The corms will multiply after each year, and each corm will last 3–5 years.
Gallery
File:Crocus sativus - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-194.jpg, Illustration from '' Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen'' (1897)
File:Safrà de perfil.jpg, Flower's profile, Serra de Casteltallat, Catalonia, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
File:Pollen of Crocus sativus.jpg, Pollen, Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
File:Safran-Weinviertel Niederreiter 2 Gramm 8285.jpg, Saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...
threads are the dried style
Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to:
* Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable
* Design, the process of creating something
* Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...
s and stigmas of ''C. sativus''.
File:Saffronfarm-860808.jpg, Saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...
harvesting, Torbat-e Heydarieh
Torbat-e Heydarieh ( fa, تربت حيدريه, also Romanized as Torbat-e Ḩeydarīyeh; also known as Torbat-e Heydari, Turbat-i-Haidari, Torbate Heydari, and Turbet-i-Haidari, and for short Torbat) is a city and capital of Torbat-e Heydarieh Co ...
, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
See also
'' Topics related to saffron:''
* History of saffron
Human cultivation and use of saffron spans more than 3,500 years and extends across cultures, continents, and civilizations. Saffron, a spice derived from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus (''Crocus sativus''), has through history remain ...
* Trade and use of saffron Saffron is one of the world's most expensive spices by weight. Saffron consists of stigmas plucked from the vegetatively propagated and sterile ''Crocus sativus'', known popularly as the saffron crocus. The resulting dried "threads" are distinguish ...
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
sativus
Medicinal plants