Picture Day Friday: Saffron Plant

The bright red-orange stigmas of the autumn-blooming Crocus sativus is the popular saffron spice. It is said to be more expensive by weight than gold these days. In medieval times, it had multiple uses. Dyers used it to impart a yellow or orange-yellow color to textiles, painters and illuminators used it as a pigment, and cooks used it in dishes.



[Image is courtesy of The Cloisters Museum and Gardens in NYC.]