ABSTRACT
Saffron (Crocus sativus L., Iridaceae) is a geophyte that propagates solely via annual corms (Mathew 1982). It is a sterile triploid (2n=24) and is incapable of producing fruit or seeds (Mathew 1977). After drying, its orange-red stigmatic lobes constitute the true saffron spice (Basker and Negbi 1983, 1985; Giaccio 1990) which contains pigments (crocin), an odour (safranal) and a bitter agent (picrocrocin). Its uses are varied and include perfumes, dyes, incense, cosmetics, and medicine (Basker and Negbi 1983). A single flower bears 5 to 7 mg of spice and maximum yields range from 2.5 kg per ha in Kashmir (Bali and Sagal 1987) to 15 kg per ha in Italy (Tammaro and Di Francesco 1978). Saffron is thought to have originated in Greece, Asia Minor and Persia (Skrubis 1990). Today it is cultivated mainly in Spain, Greece, India, Morocco and, to some extent, in several other Asian countries.1
