SAFFRON. 277 



Description. — The root consists of several long descending 

 fibres, proceeding from the base of a roundish sub-compressed 

 bulb or cormns, about the size of a nutmeg, covered with a 

 coarse brown reticulated cuticle or skin. The leaves proceed 

 immediately from the bulb, and are enveloped below in a thin 

 membranous sheath, opening on one side ; they are numerous, 

 linear, acute, several inches in length, somewhat curved to- 

 wards the summit, of a deep green colour, with a longitudinal 

 furrow, and a white central stripe. The flowers proceed from 

 amongst the leaves upon a very short scape. The perianth is 

 large, purple or lilac coloured, and resembles a corolla, con- 

 sisting of a long slender whitish tube, and a campanulate limb 

 of six deep, ovate-elliptical segments. The stamens are three, 

 erect, shorter than the corolla, tipped with sagittate pale yel- 

 low anthers. The germen is roundish, situated at the bottom 

 of the tube, with a long filiform style, terminated by a trifid 

 stigma, each of the segments somewhat dilated upwards, 

 incised or crenate at the end, drooping and protruding be- 

 tween the segments of the corolla, and of a deep orange colour 

 and fragrant odour. The capsule* is ovate, trigonal, with 

 three valves, and three cells, containing many seeds. Plate 

 40, fig. 1, (a) single petal and stamen; (b) style and stigma; 

 (c) capsule ; (c?) transverse section of the same; (e) seed. 



Saffron Crocus is found, apparently wild, in some parts of 

 the south of Europe, as Italy and Sicily ; but its native region 

 is undoubtedly the East, where it was renowned for its medi- 

 cinal powers long before its introduction to Europe. Its Eng- 

 lish localities are only in the vicinity of those places where it 

 has been cultivated. The flowers appear in October, shortly 

 after the leaves. 



The Latin Crocus, the Greek y^gxoc, and the various syno- 

 nymes in the modern languages, originate in the Arabic name 

 of the plant, Zahafran, or Sapharafi. Saffron was evidently 

 familiar to Theophrastus f, Dioscorides J, Galen, and other 

 writers of antiquity ; it is one of the plants mentioned as grow- 



* The fruit is seldom perfected, as the plant increases chiefly by the 



bulbs. 



f Hist. lib. vi. c. 6. 



$ Mat. Med. lib. i. c. 25. 



