sativus

Crocus sativus (Iridaceae), saffron, is a cormous plant known only in cultivation, having arisen through autopolyploidy from Crocus cartwrightianus native to Attica, Greece. In autumn it bears fragrant purple flowers with three long, bright red stigma branches, hand-picked and dried to yield the world's most expensive spice. Being sterile, it multiplies only by division of its corms. It has been grown around the Mediterranean since antiquity. Grow in full sun, in well-drained soil that stays dry in summer; hardy in most temperate regions.