Crocus sativus

Crocus sativus, commonly known as saffron crocus, or autumn crocus,[2] is a species of flowering plant of the Crocus genus in the iris family Iridaceae. It is best known for producing the spice saffron from the filaments that grow inside the flower. The term "autumn crocus" is also used for species in the Colchicum genus, which strongly resemble crocuses. However, crocuses have 3 stamens and 3 styles, while colchicums have 6 stamens and 1 style, and belong to different family, Colchicaceae. They are also toxic.[3]

Saffron crocus
Flowers showing crimson stigmas
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Crocus
Species:
C. sativus
Binomial name
Crocus sativus
Synonyms[1]
  • Crocus autumnalis Sm. nom. illeg.
  • Crocus officinalis (L.) Honck.
  • Crocus orsinii Parl.
  • Crocus pendulus Stokes
  • Crocus setifolius Stokes
  • Geanthus autumnalis Raf.
  • Safran officinarum Medik.

This cormous autumn-flowering perennial plant species is unknown in the wild.[2] Human cultivation of saffron crocus and use of saffron have taken place for more than 3,500 years and spans different cultures, continents, and civilizations (see History of saffron). Crocus sativus is currently known to grow in the Mediterranean, East Asia, and Irano-Turanian Region.[4] Saffron is the triploid form of a species found in Eastern Greece, Crocus cartwrightianus;[5][6] it probably appeared first in Southern Greece on the Attic peninsula[7] or the island of Crete. An origin in Western or Central Asia, although often suspected, is not supported by botanical research.[8] Other sources suggested some genetic input from Crocus pallasii,[9] which has not been verified by chromosome[5] and genome[7] comparisons.

Morphology

Crocus sativus has a corm, which holds leaves, bracts, bracteole, and the flowering stalk.[4] These are protected by the corm underground. C. sativus generally blooms with purple flowers in the autumn. The plant grows about 10 to 30 cm high.[10] C. sativus is a triploid with 24 chromosomes, which means it has three times the haploid number of chromosomes. This makes the plant sterile due to its inability to pair chromosomes during meiosis.[11]

Plant growing from a developed corm.

Cultivation

Crocus sativus is unknown in the wild, and its ancestor is unknown. The species Crocus cartwrightianus is the most probable ancestor,[12][9] but C. thomassi and C. pallasii are still being considered as potential predecessors.[13] Manual vegetative multiplication is necessary to produce offspring for this species as the plant itself is a triploid that is self-incompatible and male sterile, therefore rendering it incapable of sexual reproduction. This inability to reproduce on its own supports the hypothesis that C. sativus is a mutant descending from C. carthwrightianus as a result of selective breeding.

Corms of Crocus sativus should be planted 4 inches apart and in a trough 4 inches deep. The flower grows best in areas of full sun in well-drained soil with moderate levels of organic content.[14] The corms will multiply after each year, and will last 3–5 years.[15]

Use

Saffron is considered to be the most valuable spice by weight.[4] See spice. Depending on the size of harvested stigmas, 50,000–75,000 Crocus sativus plants are needed to produce about 1 pound of saffron;[16] each flower only produces three stigmas. Stigmas should be harvested mid-morning when the flowers are fully opened.[15] The saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) should not be confused with "meadow" saffron or autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) which is poisonous.[17]

See also

Topics related to saffron:

References
  1. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  2. "Crocus sativus". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  3. A Handbook of Crocus and Colchicum for Gardeners, Bowles, E. A., D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1952, page 154
  4. Kafi, M.; Koocheki, A.; Rashed, M. H.; Nassiri, M., eds. (2006). Saffron (Crocus sativus) Production and Processing (1st ed.). Science Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57808-427-2.
  5. Schmidt, Thomas; Heitkam, Tony; Liedtke, Susan; Schubert, Veit; Menzel, Gerhard (2019). "Adding color to a century-old enigma: multi-color chromosome identification unravels the autotriploid nature of saffron (Crocus sativus) as a hybrid of wild Crocus cartwrightianus cytotypes". New Phytologist. 0 (ja): 1965–1980. doi:10.1111/nph.15715. ISSN 1469-8137. PMID 30690735.
  6. Nemati, Zahra; Blattner, Frank R.; Kerndorff, Helmut; Erol, Osman; Harpke, Dörte (1 October 2018). "Phylogeny of the saffron-crocus species group, Crocus series Crocus (Iridaceae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 127: 891–897. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.06.036. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 29936028.
  7. Blattner, Frank R.; Kerndorff, Helmut; Gemicioglu, Almila; Harpke, Doerte; Nemati, Zahra (1 February 2019). "Saffron (Crocus sativus) is an autotriploid that evolved in Attica (Greece) from wild Crocus cartwrightianus". bioRxiv: 537688. doi:10.1101/537688.
  8. Mathew, B. (1977). "Crocus sativus and its allies (Iridaceae)". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 128 (1–2): 89–103. doi:10.1007/BF00985174. JSTOR 23642209.
  9. Harpke, Dörte; Meng, Shuchun; Rutten, Twan; Kerndorff, Helmut; Blattner, Frank R. (2013). "Phylogeny of Crocus (Iridaceae) based on one chloroplast and two nuclear loci: Ancient hybridization and chromosome number evolution". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 66 (3): 617–627. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.10.007. PMID 23123733.
  10. Mollazadeh, Hamid "Razi's Al-Hawi and saffron (Crocus sativus): a review". Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences, Dec 2015.
  11. Saxena, R. (2010), "Botany, taxonomy and cytology of Crocus sativus series", AYU, 31 (3): 374–81, doi:10.4103/0974-8520.77153, PMC 3221075, PMID 22131743
  12. Rubio-Moraga, A; Castillo-Lopez, R; Gomez-Gomez, L; Ahrazem, O (23 September 2009). "Saffron is a Monomorphic Species as Revealed by RAPD, ISSR and Microsatellite Analyses". BMC Research Notes. 2 (189): 189. doi:10.1186/1756-0500-2-189. PMC 2758891. PMID 19772674.
  13. Grilli Caiola, M. (2003). "Saffron Reproductive Biology". Acta Horticulturae. ISHS. 650 (650): 25–37. doi:10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.650.1. S2CID 89990377.
  14. "Growing and Harvesting Saffron Crocus". White Flower Farm.
  15. "Saffron Farming Information Guide". AgriFarming. 8 August 2015.
  16. Hill, T (2004). The Contemporary Encyclopedia of Herbs and Spices: Seasonings for the Global Kitchen (1st ed.). Wiley. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-471-21423-6.
  17. "Colchicum autumnale | meadow saffron/RHS Gardening".
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