Saffron is a fascinating plant - in the crocus genus, it grows from little corms that throw out long green spindly leaves and low blooming flowers that produce three orange-red stigmas. These three stigmas ARE what we know as saffron in a spice jar. Even wilder, there is no known example of Crocus sativus in the wild - it appears to be a mutation from a predecessor that is now entirely propagated through human cultivation! | All About Gardening