24 PLANTS: THEIR NATURAL GROWTH 



The generic name Crocus was bestowed upon these plants by Linnsus. Its significance 

 seems not quite clear, as by one writer it is derived from the Greek word for filament or thread, 

 an allusion to the appearance of the stigmas of one of the species (C. Sativps), when dried 

 to form the saffron of commerce ; another finds in mythical story an explanation of the name 

 in the ardent passion of Crocus for the fair Smilax, an ardency that consumed him, and 

 led to his metamorphosis into the plant that still bears his name ; while a third derives it from 

 Coriscus, a mountain of Cilicia. This suggestion bears a certain amount of probability, from 

 the facts that, in the first place, the Crocus really is a native of the South-Eastern Medi- 

 terranean region : and, secondly, that Pliny, in his writings, expressly informs us that the best 

 saffron was the Cilician. Of the three suggested derivations, however — the commercial, the 

 mythological, and the geographical — the first seems most probable, as the Crocus has, from the 

 earliest times, been cultivated for its commercial value. Saffron is mentioned by the earliest 

 Greek writers ; while in the East it has been held in great esteem from time immemorial for its 

 supposed medicinal virtues. Its Arabic name zahaferan, is the parent of our English name 

 saffron, of the French, Danish, and Swedish saffran, the Italian safferano, the Spanish azafran, 

 the German safran-planze, the Russian ska/rann, the Dutch saffraan, the Hindostanee zai/ran, 

 and the Malay sa/aron. This remarkable similarity of name clearly points to its importation into 

 Europe from the East : while the Arabic name itself is derived from the adjective ssafra, yellow. 

 The bulbs were introduced into England in the reign of Edward III. Throughout the middle 

 ages, saffron was held in great favour as a cordial ; the old writers, to mark their sense of its 

 value, called it Aurum Philosophorum, Sanguis Herculis, Aurum Vegetabile, Rex Vegetabilium, 

 and Panacea Vegetabilis ; but its use in more modern times has been very limited, and it is now 

 but little employed, except for its aromatic qualities and power of imparting a rich colouring — 

 properties that render it useful sometimes for disguising unpalatable medicinal preparations. 



In the preparation of saffron the stigmas and a small portion of the style are the parts 

 employed. After being carefully gathered, they are dried by artificial heat, and then form narrow 

 shreds of about an inch in length, and of a reddish brown colour : this is technically called hay 

 saffron. The space and labour required to produce even a small quantity render it very costly, 

 as the stigmata of about seventy thousand flowers must be carefully picked by hand for each 

 pound weight of saffron produced. 



Besides the very numerous garden Crocuses, we have two or three English species. The 

 Purple Spring Crocus (C. Vernus), though not truly indigenous, has so completely naturalised 

 itself in various localities in England and Ireland that it now occupies a recognised place in our 

 Flora. The Naked Crocus (C. Nudiflorus), though a native of Southern Europe, has naturalised 

 itself in the neighbourhood of Nottingham, Derby, Warwick, and Halifax, and, like the Spring 

 Crocus, may justly claim a place amongst our British plants. The purple flowers appear in the 

 Autumn, after its leaves have withered away : a curious feature that the ornamentist may at some 

 time find of value ; other such examples may be seen in the Coltsfoot ( Tussilago Fdrfara) and 

 the Almond ( Amygdalus communis) ; but in these instances matters are reversed, the flowers 

 preceding, not succeeding, the leaves. In addition to these, the following are occasionally met 

 with, though, as in every case they have been outcasts from gardens, they have as yet failed to 

 make good their claim to recognition as truly wild plants. The C. Minimus : this species, 

 cultivated in gardens under the name of the Scotch Crocus, has, for more than half a century, 

 sprung up in Barton Park, near Bury St. Edmunds. The C. Aureus, a rich golden-yellow 

 flowered species, and a very similar plant to that of our plate, may at times be found ; it was at 

 one time cultivated for saffron, hence its occasional occurrence. It is dedicated by the Roman 

 Catholic Church to St. Valentine, a saint whose name at least is better known than those of many 

 of his comrades of the calendar. Homer, in the fourth book of the Iliad — struck by the brilliancy 

 of its tint, as it spread over the hills one mass of colour, like the beautiful expanse of purple- heath 

 clothing our own mountains and moors — thus refers to it in his description of the couch of Jove 

 and his consort Juno : — 



" And sudden Hyacinths the turf bestrew, 

 While flowering Crocus made the mountain glow." 



The true Saffron Crocus is still cultivated in the neighbourhood of Saffron Walden, in Essex ; but 

 it has no claim" to be considered a British plant. 



It is, we feel, superfluous to point out the beauty of the plant we have selected as a 

 representative Crocus, its strikingly ornamental forms are too apparent to need any eulogy of 

 ours : it is itself its own ample commendation. We may, however, mention, by way of bare 

 elucidation, that, while in fig. io8 we have the natural growth of the plant as a whole, the remain- 

 ing detached figures give us details of what are ornamentally the more important parts. These 



