Botanical atlas

Saffron

Crocus sativus

Saffron has been treasured for more than three thousand years, from the frescoes of Bronze Age Crete to the royal kitchens of Persia, prized as much for its medicine as for its color and fragrance. Traditional healers across the Mediterranean, Middle East, and South Asia turned to saffron-infused milk and teas to lift the spirits during low, heavy moods, to ease the cramping and irritability of a difficult monthly cycle, and to settle a troubled stomach after a rich meal. Persian and Ayurvedic traditions alike considered it a warming tonic for the heart and the whole nervous system, taken in the smallest of pinches because its potency, and its price, demanded restraint. Because each flower yields only three fragile threads, saffron has always been a spice of ceremony as much as of the pantry, folded into celebration dishes and offered as a gift befitting royalty.

Safety.

Safe in ordinary culinary amounts, but becomes toxic at high doses (roughly 5 grams or more), and large amounts have traditionally been avoided in pregnancy. It may interact with blood pressure, blood-thinning, or mood medications, and is frequently adulterated, so buy from a reliable source.