Crocus sativus
| Flowering Time |
Autumn |
|
Distribution |
Not known as a wild plant |
|
Native Climate |
N/a |
|
Wild Habitat |
N/a |
|
Distinctive Features |
Large purple/lilac flower with three very long, red style branches. Corm tunic finely netted fibres |
|
Closest Relatives |
|
|
Cultivation Requirements |
Warm, dry summer rest needed for flowering. Deep planting and rich soil (or feeding) assist in building and maintaining flowering size corms |
|
Availability |
Widely available in commerce |
Believed to have been an ancient selection from Crocus cartwrightianus, this is the plant cultivated for its long red style branches used in cookery.
Horticultural Crocus sativus.
Horticultural clone growing in a bulb frame in the UK.
Crocus sativus style branches - Saffron as harvested by Saffron grower Olivier Tetart in the Lot region of France
Tetart Saffron Crocus.
'font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>Lower two photographs ? Olivier Tetart