Crocus biflorus
Mill.
Scotch crocus
(c) Mehmet Çelik, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Luca Fornasari, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Luca Fornasari
What to Eat
Edible parts: Stigma, Flowers, Spice
The stigmas and flowers are used as a spice and occasionally mixed with saffron.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant.
Caucasus, Europe, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Mediterranean, Middle East, Russia, Sicily, Slovenia, Turkey, Türkiye,
How to Identify
A temperate herb in the Iridaceae family with edible stigmas and flowers that are occasionally used as a saffron substitute.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Crocus biflorus, the silvery crocus or scotch crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to south-eastern Europe and south-western Asia, including Italy, the Balkans, Ukraine, Turkey, Caucasus, Iraq, and Iran. It is a cormous perennial growing to 6 cm (2.4 in) tall and wide. It is a highly variable species, with flowers in shades of pale mauve or white, often with darker stripes on the outer tepals. The flowers appear early in spring.
Names & Synonyms
Ikiz çiğdem
References (3)
- Ertug, F, Yenen Bitkiler. Resimli Türkiye Florası -I- Flora of Turkey - Ethnobotany supplement
- Licata, M., et al, 2016, A survey of wild plant species for food use in Sicily (Italy) – results of a 3-year study in four Regional Parks. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 12:12
- Seidemann J., 2005, World Spice Plants. Economic Usage, Botany, Taxonomy. Springer. p 121
