Jan asked: " does anyone know if you can harvest the stigmas of C. cartwrightianus and use them in place of saffron?"
First, a bit of nit-picking terminology. It isn't the stigma which is harvested, it's the entire style. The stigma is the surface on which pollen gets stuck. If saffron were harvested from the stigma only, it would be vastly more expensive than it already is. Also, old books mention that in the past the styles of Crocus nudiflorus were used as a source of saffron. I grow several species of crocus of the saffron group (C. thomasii, C. cartwrightianus, C. oreocreticus, C. pallasii and C. sativus - all but C. sativus from Jane McGary) and although I have not attempted to cook with the styles, they all have a similar strong scent. A culinary/economic note: years ago I bought an ounce of saffron. It came in a rather elegant decorative metal box. I figured it would be a life time supply. At the time it cost about $50 US dollars. In the current Penzeys Spices catalog, 1/4 ounce of the better grade goes for about $82. At that rate my little box would have cost nearly $320. Jim McKenney -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jan Jeddeloh Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 9:32 PM To: Alpine-L, the Electronic Rock Garden Society;postings copyright by authors. Subject: Re: [Alpine-l] a bit of rock garden history Jane McGary wrote Crocus sativus is believed to be a triploid sport of C. > cartwrightianus, which is a fertile species and can indeed be grown > from seed. In fact, it self-sowed readily in my bulb frames. It > usually has white flowers with strongly marked veining on the outer > tepals, and its style is the same bright scarlet as C. sativus but > not so long. I think C. cartwrightianus is widely adaptable in gardens. Just out of curiousity does anyone know if you can harvest the stigmas of C. cartwrightianus and use them in place of saffron? Just wondering. Jan _______________________________________________ Alpine-l mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l _______________________________________________ Alpine-l mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
