saffron crocus

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• Saffron Crocus
• autumn crocus
• saffron

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Crocus sativus subsp. orsinii
• Safran officinarum
• Geanthus autumnalis
• Crocus sativus var. orsinii
• Crocus setifolius
• Crocus officinalis
• Crocus orsinii
• Crocus sativus var. cashmerianus
• Crocus sativus var. officinalis
• Crocus pendulus

Regional and Traditional Names

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and is classified under the phylum Streptophyta and the class Equisetopsida. Within the subclass Magnoliidae, it follows the order Asparagales and is a member of the family Iridaceae. Finally, its taxonomic identity is defined by the genus Crocus.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a diverse geographical distribution spanning several distinct regions across three continents. In Middle Europe, its presence can be noted within the territories of Czechia and Slovakia. Moving toward the Mediterranean, it is widely established in Southwestern Europe, specifically in Spain. The species also thrives in Southeastern Europe, with significant populations found in both Greece and Italy. Finally, its range extends into Northern Africa, where it is documented in Morocco.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Life history

The life history of Crocus sativus is characterized by its status as a perennial plant, allowing it to persist through multiple growing seasons. As a geophyte, its vital organs are protected underground within specialized storage organs, specifically corms, which enable the plant to survive periods of dormancy and environmental stress. This biological strategy classifies it as a cryptophyte, as its primary vegetative structures remain concealed beneath the soil surface for much of its life cycle, emerging only during the specific seasonal windows required for flowering and vegetative growth.

Life form :

geophyte

Life form :

cryptophyte

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Crocus sativus is characterized by its growth form as a non-woody herb and forb, functioning as a self-supporting plant that does not require climbing structures. It is an independent species, neither a parasite nor an epiphyte, maintaining a strictly terrestrial habitat rather than being aquatic or semiaquatic. The plant is relatively diminutive in stature, with a height that typically ranges from a minimum of 0.08 m to a maximum of 0.3 m.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

self-supporting

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Growth form :

herb

Growth form :

forb

Parasite :

independent

Plant height max:

0.3 m

Plant height min:

0.08 m

Woodiness :

non-woody

Physiology

The physiology of Crocus sativus is characterized by a specialized metabolic framework optimized for its geophytic life cycle, primarily operating through a C3 photosynthetic pathway. As a C3 plant, it fixes carbon dioxide directly via the enzyme Rubisco through the Calvin cycle, which is efficient under the moderate temperatures and temperate conditions typical of its Mediterranean-style growing environments. The plant's physiological activity is highly seasonal and driven by the storage of carbohydrates within its underground corm, which serves as a critical nutrient reservoir to support rapid floral development and vegetative growth. During its active phase, the physiological processes involve the synchronized mobilization of starches from the corm to the developing perianth and styles. Furthermore, the plant exhibits complex secondary metabolism, specifically the biosynthesis of highly specialized volatile compounds and carotenoids like crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal within the stigmas, a process that is tightly regulated by the plant's hormonal signaling and environmental responses to light and temperature.

Photosynthetic pathway :

C3

Reproduction

The reproduction of Crocus sativus is characterized by a specific seasonal flowering cycle and distinct fruit development. The flowering period typically commences in September and extends through November, marking a critical phase in its reproductive cycle. Following pollination, the plant produces fruit that exhibits remarkable consistency in size; the fruit length maintains a uniform measurement, with a minimum, mean, and maximum length all recorded at approximately 3 cm.

Flowering time :

Sep

Flowering time :

Nov

Fruit length max:

3 cm

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Crocus sativus has 2 reported plant parts identified across 4 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include flower, leaf.

Flower

1. Journal of food biochemistry
2. Food chemistry: X
3. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica

Leaf

1. Current microbiology

Chemicals

Crocus sativus has 193 reported phytochemicals identified across 4 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include Safranal, Crocetin, Crocin, Picrocrocin, Flavonoids.

Safranal

1. Dr. Duke
2. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
3. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Journal of ethnopharmacology
5. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Crocetin

1. Dr. Duke
2. Frontiers in pharmacology
3. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
5. BioFactors (Oxford, England)

Crocin

1. Dr. Duke
2. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology
3. Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands)
4. Journal of ethnopharmacology
5. International journal of molecular sciences

Picrocrocin

1. Dr. Duke
2. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
3. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
5. Food chemistry. Molecular sciences

Flavonoids

1. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
2. Journal of food biochemistry
3. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
4. Current pharmaceutical design
5. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Carotenoids

1. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
2. Current pharmaceutical design
3. Physiology and molecular biology of plants : an international journal of functional plant biology
4. Current medicinal chemistry
5. Journal of traditional and complementary medicine

Crocine

1. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
2. Briefings in functional genomics
3. Current microbiology
4. Cellular and molecular biology (Noisy-le-Grand, France)
5. Anticancer research

Saffron

1. Current neuropharmacology
2. Food science & nutrition
3. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP
4. Current drug discovery technologies
5. Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie

Zeaxanthin

1. Dr. Duke
2. Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands)
3. International journal of molecular sciences
4. BMC plant biology
5. Plant physiology

Anthocyanins

1. Scientific reports
2. Current pharmaceutical design
3. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Iranian journal of basic medical sciences
5. Food chemistry: X

Activities

Crocus sativus has 518 reported activities identified across 4 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antioxidant, Neuroprotective, Anticancer, Antidepressant, Cytotoxic.

Antioxidant

1. Dr. Duke
2. TheScientificWorldJournal
3. Journal of ethnopharmacology
4. Archives of Iranian medicine
5. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Neuroprotective

1. Dr. Duke
2. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
3. Archives of Iranian medicine
4. Scientific reports
5. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology

Anticancer

1. Dr. Duke
2. DNA and cell biology
3. Nutrients
4. Briefings in functional genomics
5. Frontiers in nutrition

Antidepressant

1. Dr. Duke
2. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
3. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Frontiers in nutrition
5. Drug research

Cytotoxic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Cancer letters
3. Avicenna journal of phytomedicine
4. Pharmaceutical biology
5. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association

Antimicrobial

1. TheScientificWorldJournal
2. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences
4. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
5. Current pharmaceutical design

Antitumor

1. Dr. Duke
2. Pharmacognosy magazine
3. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity
4. Phytochemistry
5. Archivos latinoamericanos de nutricion

Anxiolytic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
3. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Iranian journal of basic medical sciences
5. European journal of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics

Antibacterial

1. Dr. Duke
2. TheScientificWorldJournal
3. Journal of evidence-based complementary & alternative medicine
4. Pharmacognosy magazine

Anticonvulsant

1. Dr. Duke
2. Avicenna journal of phytomedicine
3. Current pharmaceutical design
4. Iranian journal of basic medical sciences

Conditions

Crocus sativus has 176 reported investigations on conditions identified across 4 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported conditions include depression, Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases.

Depression

1. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
2. Alternative medicine review : a journal of clinical therapeutic
3. Planta medica
4. Current pharmaceutical design
5. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment

Alzheimer's disease

1. Archives of Iranian medicine
2. British journal of pharmacology
3. International journal of molecular sciences
4. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
5. Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics

Anxiety

1. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment
2. Children (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Pharmacological research
4. Heliyon
5. CNS drugs

Cancer

1. Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946)
2. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
3. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Current medicinal chemistry
5. Pharmaceutical biology

Neurodegenerative diseases

1. Archives of Iranian medicine
2. International journal of molecular sciences
3. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
4. Journal of traditional and complementary medicine
5. Nutrients

Oxidative stress

1. Nephrology (Carlton, Vic.)
2. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
3. EXCLI journal
4. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology
5. Drug research

Inflammation

1. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
2. Natural product research
3. Biochimie
4. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology
5. Current pharmaceutical design

Antioxidant

1. Natural product research
2. Nutrients
3. Briefings in functional genomics
4. Current pharmaceutical design
5. Scientific reports

Hypertension

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Journal of pharmacopuncture
3. Avicenna journal of phytomedicine
4. Journal of ethnopharmacology
5. Natural products and bioprospecting

Neurodegenerative disorders

1. Current pharmaceutical design
2. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Phytotherapy research : PTR
4. Iranian journal of basic medical sciences
5. Anti-inflammatory & anti-allergy agents in medicinal chemistry

Preparations

Crocus sativus has 27 reported preparations identified across 4 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported preparations include dried stigmas, aqueous-ethanolic extracts, crocin, extract, saffron.

Dried stigmas

1. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
2. Plant physiology
3. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Aqueous-ethanolic extracts

1. Die Pharmazie
2. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology

Crocin

1. Metabolic brain disease
2. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology

Extract

1. Infectious disorders drug targets
2. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity

Saffron

1. Food science & nutrition
2. Computational and structural biotechnology journal

Ce

1. Letters in applied microbiology

Crocin

1. Biochimie

Crocus sativus stigmas

1. Journal de pharmacie de Belgique

Crude extracts

1. Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences

Gurgem-7

1. Ecotoxicology and environmental safety