JEjEFORE winter’s snow has completely 
disappeared, the crocus hursts forth above the 
ground, for it is one of the first blooms of spring. 
It grows from a bulb planted in the fall and often 
appears in unexpected places in the lawn or border, 
owing to the amazing way in which it multiplies 
itself. The bright, showy little flower, loved for its 
beauty, appears first and is followed by the grass 
like leaves which emerge right from the ground. 
Many varieties including white, golden yellow, dark 
blue, lavender and purple are very well known. . . . 
There was a time when the crocus was valued for 
reasons other than its beauty. Roman women used 
the juice of the flower as a dye for hair and the 
Irish, believing that the stain from the crocus had 
a sanitary value, used it as a dye for linen previous 
to the reign of Henry VIII, who forbade its use. . . . 
The name crocus was given this spring flower by 
the Greek philosopher and botanist, Theophrastus. 
One Greek legend attributes the origin of the spring 
crocus to drops of the rejuvenating substance being 
prepared by Media to restore youth to Aeson, the 
aged father of Jason, when they came back to Iolcus 
to lay claim to the throne. To keep Jason from the 
throne his uncle, Pelias, sent him in quest of the 
Golden Fleece. With the aid of Media he succeeded 
in securing it, and together they returned to Iolcus 
to establish his right to the throne. . . . Saffron is 
the name given to an autumn blooming species of 
crocus having a purple flower. According to another 
Greek legend, saffron owes its origin to the child 
Krokos who, after being unintentionally killed by a 
discus hurled by Mercury, was immersed in celestial 
water and changed into the flower saffron. . . . Even 
in India and England crocus, or saffron, had a great 
significance. During the reign of Edward III, an 
English traveller under the guise of a pilgrim entered 
Kashmir, a native state of north west India, where 
the rajah had a monopoly on saffron. Risking his 
life, he stole a bulb, carefully concealed it, brought 
it back to his home in Walden and planted it. So 
many flowers grew from that one bulb that ever 
since that time the place has been known as Saffron 
Walden. . . . Poets sing of this cheerful, stately little 
flower. Longfellow in The Golden Legend tells of the 
King of Bethlehem wearing a yellow crocus in his 
diadem as the “gem of his authority.” Every lover 
of the crocus shares the same feeling as Bernard 
Barton expresses in his poem To a Crocus when he 
writes: 
“Welcome wild harbinger of spring! 
To this small nook of earth; 
Feeling and fancy fondly cling 
Round thoughts which owe their birth 
To thee, and to the humble spot 
Where chance has fixed thy lowly lot.” 
