Saffron (saffron (/? s？ Fred? N/), scientific name: Crocus sativus or Crocus sativus, a perennial flower of Iridaceae, is also a common spice. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world by weight. Crocus sativus is a native species in southwest Asia, but it was first cultivated artificially by the Greeks. Crocus sativus is mainly distributed in Europe, Mediterranean and Central Asia. It was introduced to China in Ming Dynasty, listed as medicine in Compendium of Materia Medica, and cultivated in China and Zhejiang. It is a valuable Chinese herbal medicine with strong physiological activity. Its stigma is used as medicine in Asia and Europe, which has the functions of calming, eliminating phlegm and relieving spasm, and is used to treat gastropathy, menstruation regulation, measles, fever, jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly and so on.

The name of crocus first appeared in Pinhui Essentials. In the Yuan Dynasty, this product was recorded as "Yuefulan" in Diet. There are grasses in the Outline. However, due to the conditions at that time, Li Shizhen was unable to make a deeper observation of the saffron. He only said, "Crocus has returned to the ground and Arabia, where there are red and blue flowers. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was used as food ... According to Zhang Huabo, the red and blue flowers in Zhang Qian were planted in the western regions, so this is a kind, or the local atmosphere is slightly different. " It is considered that saffron and red and blue flowers introduced from Han Dynasty are "one kind, or the local flavor is slightly different." So saffron is painted as a red and blue flower of Compositae. However, there is a record of saffron in Pinhui Essentials, and the growth of saffron is observed in detail, and the roots, stems, leaves and flowers are described. The solid form (see "concentrated solution") is exactly the same as that of Iris crocus used today.