Saffron crocus

Kozani saffron has a protected designation of origin, and Bronze Age frescoes at Akrotiri on Santorini show women gathering saffron flowers.

A perennial of the iris family growing from a corm, flowering in autumn with violet blooms veined in a darker shade. In the centre of each flower are three long, dark red stigmas which, hand-picked and dried, become saffron – the most expensive spice in the world. The plant is triploid and sterile, so it is propagated only from corms. More than 150,000 flowers are needed for a kilogram of the spice.

Significance in the country

Krokos Kozanis, grown around the village of Krokos in Western Macedonia, has a protected designation of origin, and it is bought up and sold by a local producers’ cooperative. The frescoes from Akrotiri on Santorini, showing girls gathering saffron flowers, prove that the plant was already prized here in the Bronze Age.

Where it grows

Grown almost exclusively in Western Macedonia, on the plateau around Kozani – in the village of Krokos and several dozen surrounding villages.

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