saffron crocus
Yields costly threads
The saffron crocus is a flowering plant whose dried stigmas yield saffron, the world's most expensive spice by weight.
Each purple flower produces only three red-orange threads, requiring thousands of blooms harvested by hand for a small quantity of spice.
The plant blooms in autumn, unlike most crocuses, and has been cultivated since antiquity.
- bulbRounded storage organ
- stigmaMark of dishonor
- spicePlant-derived food flavoring
- cormBulblike underground stem base
- luxury itemNonessential expensive good
red gold · Kashmir · perennial · religious rituals · La Mancha · gather · bloom · flowers · purple petals · risotto · Silk Road · ancient Persia · paella · herbaceous · carotenoids · expensive · cultivated · gold