CROCUS SATIVUS, Linn. History, Uses, &c.

Saffron, on account of its brilliant yellow colour, like that of the rising sun, has been especially valued by mankind from the earliest ages; in Sanskrit it bears the name of Kunkuma (a name also given in India to the red colour prepared from turmeric), and is described as Charu “fair,” Vara “suitor,” Agnisikha “having a crest of fire,” Saurabha “fragrant,” Mangalya “propitious,” &c. In Persia the word Zard, derived from the Zend, signifies “yellow, and saffron,” and the sun is called Zard-ru “yellow or golden-faced,” and Zardah-i-kamrán “the fortunate yellow.” Saffron is the Karkôm of the Hebrews, a name borrowed from the Persians, and in the Song of Solomon the beauty of the bride is likened to it. Amongst the Greeks κροκος signified both saffron and yellow; Eos or Aurora, the goddess of the morning, is clothed in it, and in Homer she is described as accompanying the Sun throughout the day.