Crocus sativus Seeds | Saffron Crocus
LATIN NAME: Crocus sativus
COMMON NAME: Saffron Crocus
Plant Profile
A distinctive member of its genus, Saffron Crocus (Crocus sativus) is a fine, generous, easy bulb. Saffron crocus is low, late-flowering, autumn crocus of warm dry lands, and its dried, red-orange stigmas have been the most precious of the spices for thousands of years. Narrow, grassy leaves rise in autumn, and large, lilac-purple, goblet-shaped flowers open in late autumn, each carrying three long, red-orange stigmas at the centre. Stigmas are hand-picked and dried to give saffron, spice that gives golden colour and fine, honeyed aroma to rice and breads of the world. Pollinating insects take to the flowers at once, adding a little wildlife interest to its garden value. Plants that offer this much while asking this little are rare enough to treasure.
Science & Biotechnology
Saffron is simultaneously the world’s most expensive spice and one of the better-evidenced botanicals in psychiatry. Quality is graded under ISO 3632 by colorimetric measurement of crocin (colour), picrocrocin (taste) and safranal (aroma), the same carotenoid-derived compounds held responsible for its pharmacology. Meta-analyses of randomised trials in mild-to-moderate depression — mostly using 30 mg of stigma extract daily for six to twelve weeks — report efficacy comparable to fluoxetine, imipramine and citalopram and clearly superior to placebo, albeit with small samples and a preponderance of studies from one research region. Culinary doses are safe; single doses above about 5 g are toxic and doses of 20 g or more can be dangerous.
Research touching on Crocus sativus ranges from the botany of the Crocus group to practical horticulture, including seed handling, propagation and the selection of superior forms. Saffron crocus has a rich and well-documented place in plant science, and red-orange stigmas have been studied for a very long time as source of the most precious of the spices. For researchers, plants like this one offer practical material for propagation studies and selection work.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Saffron Crocus earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Saffron crocus is grown for precious stigmas, and dried saffron gives golden colour and fine, honeyed aroma to rice dishes, breads, sauces and sweets of the world. It is the most precious of the spices by weight, and the flowers are hand-picked and the stigmas dried with great care. It is a fine, easy bulb for warm, dry, sunny border. Getting it going is easy; keeping it going is easier still.
Saffron, the dried stigmas of Crocus sativus, is the world’s most precious spice, and its crocin and safranal pigments have human-trial support for mood and eye health. It takes roughly 150 flowers to make a single gram, which is why growing your own is such a pleasure.
Growing from Seed
Starting Saffron Crocus from seed is simple and satisfying. Scatter the seed evenly over a loose seed compost, cover to no more than its own depth, and keep the pot moist and bright. Transplant the sturdiest seedlings to their permanent spots and let them develop without disturbance.
Our Take
As a fine, generous, easy bulb, it settles into a routine quickly once established. Few garden plants carry such a documented history of use as this one does. Its wants are few — a sunny spot, soil that drains, and time to settle in.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Saffron Crocus often pair it with these related subjects: