PERFECT FLOWERS

Thursday, March 31, 2011

When a flower contains both the female stigmas and male stamens together, this is botanically called a perfect flower. The saffron crocus (crocus sativa) is one example and it will survive the British climate. From the mid-fourteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century, it was grown commercially around the town of Saffron Walden in Essex. But the bulb needs a long, hot summer to produce the flowers with their desirable stigmas. The purple flowers open in the autumn and each contains three long, red stigmas next to the orange anthers. The stigmas protrude from the flower and this distinguishes it from the poisonous ‘autumn crocus’ or naked ladies’ which are also called meadow saffron. Grow the saffron bulb in a rich, well-drained soil in a sheltered spot. Pick the saffron stigmas as soon as the flower opens.