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The structure and use of the Saffron Crocus
The species crocus sativus bears large, bluish-lilac flowers in autumn. They have a delicate aromatic scent. Pliny recorded that the benches in public theatres used to be strewn with its flowers. Sometimes the petals were dropped into fountains in public halls to diffuse the scent. As a perfume, saffron was strewn in Greek and Roman halls, courts, theatres and baths. The streets of Rome were sprinkled with saffron when Nero entered into the city. The orange-red pistils and stigmas were laboriously gathered for drying and pressing into ‘saffron cakes’ which were common in the East.

The sun-dried yellow anthers yielded a powder having healing properties and which was also used as a condiment, in drinks, or as a sweet perfume. In Egypt, this powder was used as a very strong dye for colouring expensive garments. .Similarly, in India in ancient times, a golden-coloured, water-soluble fabric dye was distilled from saffron stigmas. This dye has been used for royal garments in several other cultures.

The saffron crocus was introduced to Britain in the mid-14th century, to provide a yellow dye and it lives on in the name of the town of Saffron Walden in Essex. It is reckoned that 150,000 to 250,000 stigmas are required to produce one kilo of dried saffron, so it is expensive. During various periods, saffron has been worth much more than its weight in gold; it is still the most expensive spice in the world.

Today, in India, it is used for imparting a subtly sweet, yet slightly bitter flavour to stews and is particularly used in curries. It is used to colour and flavour many Mediterranean and Oriental dishes, particularly rice and fish, and English, Scandinavian, and Balkan breads. In Spanish cuisine, the dish paella comprises saffron-flavoured rice cooked with meats, seafood and vegetables. Saffron continues to be used as a flavouring ingredient in vermouth.

Like all crocuses, the saffron grows from corms which renew annually at the bases of the old. Remarkably, the Creator gave them the facility of contractile roots. This means that the roots are wrinkled transversely so as to be able to wriggle as it were, to pull the new corms to the best depth for them to flourish. Technically, the species sativus is a sterile triploid (not producing seed) so is propagated vegetatively.

References in the Bible
Solomon's Song of Songs in the Bible is an allegory that beautifully portrays the relationship between God and the nation of Israel or, on the other hand, between Christ and his church – the ecclesia consisting of the body believers in him as the Saviour. Chapter four of the Song of Songs contains a particular allegory featuring a beautiful garden or fruitful orchard filled with most exotic plants, including saffron. We read:

‘Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:’
[Song of Solomon 4.13,14].

It is surprising that the Song of Solomon is the only place in the Bible where the saffron crocus is mentioned, considering its importance in Biblical times in the East. It is also surprising in another respect, in that there were many other species of crocus in Israel, sufficient for them to have an honourable mention by the prophet Isaiah. The RSV translation of Isaiah 35 puts it like this:

‘the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus’
(Isaiah 35.1).

With such beautiful flowers in many colours and forms, no wonder that the barren desert will in a symbolic sense ‘rejoice’ over such an abundant supply of delightful flowers.

This will be fulfilled in the coming Kingdom of God when even the most unfertile desert lands will blossom abundantly with innumerable beautiful flowers, including the saffron crocus.