XIII 



ON CROCUSES 



THAT cheerful harbinger of spring, the yellow Crocus, 

 which often flashes back a greeting to the pale rays of 

 the February sun, is one of the oldest of our popular 

 garden flowers. Thriving in almost any soil, calling for 

 no skill in culture, cheap, it is truly one of the flowers 

 of the people. 



The Crocus is so old a plant, and its derivation so 

 remote, that it has been admitted to the British flora ; 

 but the species that grow wild have probably become 

 naturalised. 



Old writers spoke of the " Saffron Crocus" in general 

 terms, but the Crocus that produces the saffron of com- 

 merce is sativus, a lilac species which blooms in autumn. 

 The saffron is made from the dried stigmas of the flower. 

 It is a very old plant too old for its history to be 

 traceable. The word " saffron " comes from the Arabic 

 al zahafaran or zafaran. It is easy to trace the old 

 French safran, the Italian zafferano, and the English 

 saffron from this root. The origin of Crocus is hardly 

 less clear. Theophrastus (372-286 B.C.), the Greek 

 naturalist and writer on plants, referred to it. The 

 Greek krokos is probably derived from the Arabic 

 kurkum. 



In these days the name saffron is rarely used in 

 relation to the Crocus, but is applied to Colchicum 



autumnale, the Meadow Saffron ; and there are probably 



126 



