Distribution : Native of S. Europe and West Asia.Iran, Spain, Greece, Morocco, Azerbaijan, Spain, and Italy. Cultivated in disputed region of Kashmir and Kishtwar of Himalaya, Greece, Heerat (Afghanistan), The cultivation of saffron also in the Americas was begun by members of the Schwenkfelder Church in Pennsylvania. In recent decades cultivation has spread to New Zealand, Tasmania, and California. Despite numerous cultivation efforts in such countries as Pakistan,
India, Austria, England, Germany, and Switzerland, only select locales
continue the harvest in northern and central Europe. Among these is the
small Swiss village of Mund, in the Valais canton, whose annual saffron
output amounts to several kilograms. Microscale cultivation occurs in
Tasmania,China, Egypt, France, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, UAE, Turkey
(especially Safranbolu), California, and Central Africa.
Botanical features : Corms of walnut size with fibrous scales remaining upto 30 cm deep in soil. Flowers stalkless with a long slender corolla tube and 6 equal perianth lobes of deep blue-violet colour. Stamens 2; style 3-lobed deep brick-red.
Medicinal use of Saffron: Saffron is a famous medicinal herb with a long history of effective use, though it is little used at present because cheaper and more effective herbs are available. The flower styles and stigmas are the parts used, but since these are very small and fiddly to harvest they are very expensive and consequently often adulterated by lesser products. The styles and stigmas are anodyne, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, appetizer, carminative, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, sedative and stimulant. They are used as a diaphoretic for children, to treat chronic haemorrhages in the uterus of adults, to induce menstruation, treat period pains and calm indigestion and colic. A dental analgesic is obtained from the stigmas. The styles are harvested in the autumn when the plant is in flower and are dried for later use, they do not store well and should be used within 12 months. This remedy should be used with caution, large doses can be narcotic and quantities of 10g or more can cause an abortion.
Other uses : Dye obtained from flower petals is used to flavour and colour food material. Corms/bulbs have been used as a scarcity food. Despite its high cost, saffron has been used as a fabric dye, particularly in China and India. In India It is the favoured colouring for the cloth of Indian swamis who have renounced the material world. It is in the long run an unstable colouring agent; the imparted vibrant orange-yellow hue quickly fades to a pale and creamy yellow. Even in minute amounts, the saffron stamens yield a luminous yellow-orange; increasing the applied saffron concentration will give fabric of increasingly rich shades of red. Clothing dyed with saffron was traditionally reserved for the noble classes, implying that saffron played a ritualised and status-keying role. It was originally responsible for the vermilion-, ochre-, and saffron-hued robes and mantles worn by Buddhist and Hindu monks. In medieval Ireland and Scotland, well-to-do monks wore a long linen undershirt known as a léine, which was traditionally dyed with saffron.In histology the hematoxylin-phloxine-saffron (HPS) stain is used as a tissue stain to make biological structures more visible under a microscope.
There have been many attempts to replace saffron with a cheaper dye. Saffron's usual substitutes in food—turmeric and safflower, among others—yield a garishly bright yellow that could hardly be confused with that of saffron. Saffron's main colourant is the flavonoid crocin; it has been discovered in the less tediously harvested—and hence less costly—gardenia fruit. Research in China is ongoing.In Europe saffron threads were a key component of an aromatic oil known as crocinum, which comprised such motley ingredients as alkanet, dragon's blood (for colour), and wine (again for colour). Crocinum was applied as a perfume to hair. Another preparation involved mixing saffron with wine to produce a viscous yellow spray; it was copiously applied in sudoriferously sunny Roman amphitheatres—as an air freshener.
Edible parts of Saffron : The flower styles are commonly used as a flavouring and yellow colouring for various foods such as bread, soups, sauces, rice and puddings. They are an essential ingredient of many traditional dishes such as paella, bouillabaisse, risotto milanese and various other Italian dishes. The styles are extremely rich in riboflavin. Water soluble. Yields per plant are extremely low, about 4000 stigmas yield 25g of saffron. Saffron is the world's most expensive spice, it takes 150,000 flowers and 400 hours work to produce 1 kilo of dried saffron. About 25 kilos of styles can be harvested from a hectare of the plant. Fortunately, only very small quantities of the herb are required to impart their colour and flavour to dishes. Because of the cost, saffron is frequently adulterated with cheaper substitutes such as marigold flowers and safflower. The flower styles are used as a tea substitute. Root - cooked. The corms are toxic to young animals so this report of edibility should be treated with some caution.
Propagation of Saffron : Seed - according to some reports this species is a sterile triploid and so does not produce fertile seed. However, if seed is obtained then it is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed can be sown in the spring in a cold frame. Germination can take 1 - 6 months at 18°C. Unless the seed has been sown too thickly, do not transplant the seedlings in their first year of growth, but give them regular liquid feeds to make sure they do not become deficient. Divide the small bulbs once the plants have died down, planting 2 - 3 bulbs per 8cm pot. Grow them on for another 2 years in a greenhouse or frame and plant them out into their permanent positions when dormant in late summer. It takes 3 years for plants to flower from seed. Division of the clumps in late summer after the plant has died down. The bulbs can be planted out direct into their permanent positions.
Buy saffron corms, plant them in pots or directly in the soil from June to September and they will bloom in the following October.
Crocus sativus corms/bulbs
The corms are available from June to September (Every Year)
Packaging : 100,200,500,1000 corms
Order them from now on
For more details:
The Jammu and Kashmir Medicinal Plants Introduction Centre
"Ginkgo House" Azizabad, (Via Wuyan-Meej Road), Pampore PPR JK 192121
(Via New Delhi-India)
Mob :+91-9858986794
Ph: +91-1933-223705
e-mail: jkmpic@gmail.com
home:
http://jkmpic.blogspot.com
