This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Alexander the Great, king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, reportedly bathed in saffron to heal his battle wounds. Doctors once prescribed this rare plant as a treatment for the bubonic plague.
Cleopatra even used it as a fragrance to entice potential suitors. And now, this tiny flower associated with the Middle East could have a new use: providing Colorado farmers with supplemental income in the drought-stricken American West. Gauging the potential for saffron as a Colorado crop is the goal of new research underway on the green roof of Colorado State University Spur in Denver.
Reece Bailey, a horticulture graduate student, has planted dozens of saffron bulbs in the campus's urban gardens to determine how the world's most expensive spice fares in the unique climate of Colorado's high plains. "One thing that's always been interesting to me is new ideas and novel ways of integrating crops into our environments," said Bailey, who grew up in Aurora and has been working at Spur's green roof for three years. He said saffron piqued his interest because of its value: 1 pound (454 grams) of saffron typically costs between $600 and $5,000, with some varieties fetching up to $10,000.
To put that into perspective, vanilla—the second-most-expensive spice in the world—costs between $90 and $225 a pound. Iran produces roughly 85% of the world's saffron. The country's mountainous, semiarid climate has a lot in common with Colorado.
Bailey says that makes the Centennial State an ideal place to experiment with growing a spice known as "red gold." And since the crop requires very little water, it can provide extra income without requiring additional irrigation. Finally, because saffron typically blooms in November, it could provide otherwise cash-strapped Colorado farmers with late-season yields. Of course, there's a reason saffron is rare.
Farmers harvest only the three needlelike red stigmas at the center of saffron's purple flowers. They bloom for just a few hours each morning. Plucking out stigmas is an exercise in patience that often involves tweezers and a lot of focus.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
