Crocus thomasii

Crocus thomasii is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae. It is a cormous perennial native from southern Italy to Croatia.

Crocus thomasii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Iridaceae
Genus:	Crocus
Species:	C. thomasii
Binomial name
Crocus thomasii Ten.
Synonyms
Crocus thomasianus Herb. Crocus visianicus Herb.

In the 19th century around Taranto, South Italy, Crocus thomasii stigmas were harvested from the wild and used to flavour dishes as a kind of wild saffron.^[1] It is a possible ancestor of the domesticated saffron crocus, Crocus sativus.^[2][3]