Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. When the first rains began in autumn, lilac-blue flowers thrust up through my lawn on bare stems, crocuses I ...

With a price tag of up to €30,000 per kilogram, saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. Sometimes it even exceeds the price of gold. Its typical aroma is produced by the apocarotenoid ...

The origin of C. sativus has long been the subject of speculation and research, as this knowledge would enable breeders to introduce genetic diversity into the otherwise genetically uniform plant ...

Saffron, a spice derived from the Crocus sativus flower, is most commonly associated with Asia and the Middle East. But saffron crocus thrive around the Mediterranean, including Italy, where they ...

As mid-November passes, the last purple drifts of saffron crocus ( Crocus sativus ) fade in the garden. But if you plant now, its cheerful color and habit will grace your garden next fall from ...

If you’re all about edibles these days, you might try planting saffron crocus this season. Not only is it the prettiest little fall flower you can imagine, each little red thread (stigma) plucked from ...

Question: Have you ever grown saffron crocus? Does it grow in our climate? Answer: Saffron is reportedly the most expensive spice in the world. This rich spice comes from a fall-blooming species of ...

Gardeners on the hunt for something special, novel, exotic even, might consider growing saffron crocus for a personal supply of the expensive spice saffron. The spice saffron is produced by the ...

For almost 100 years, there has been controversy as to the possible parent species of the saffron crocus are. If the parent species were known, changes could be inserted into the crocus genome by new ...