Crocus thomasii is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae. It is a cormous perennial native from southern Italy to Croatia.
In the 19th century around Taranto, South Italy, Crocus thomasii stigmas were harvested from the wild and used to flavour dishes as a kind of wild saffron.[1] It is a possible ancestor of the domesticated saffron crocus, Crocus sativus.[2][3]
References
- ^ Maw, George (1886). A Monograph of the Genus Crocus. Soho Square, London: Dulau and Co. p. 87. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ Grilli Caiola 2003, p. 1.
- ^ Negbi 1999, p. 28.
Sources
- Grilli Caiola, M. (2003), “Saffron Reproductive Biology”, Acta Horticulturae, 650 (650), ISHS: 25–37, doi:10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.650.1, S2CID 89990377
- Negbi, M., ed. (1999), Saffron: Crocus sativus L., CRC Press, ISBN 978-90-5702-394-1