Flowers are beautiful and interesting, but they also give us a lot of valuable information about history, culture, civilizations, relationships, friendships, etc. Some of the most famous artists from the past centuries used flowers in their works of art to express their feelings and desires.
You will admit that you have been at least once in a situation where there are no right words to say, right?
Flower symbolism might be more effective and more powerful in comparison to words, but what is important here – you should be familiar with the symbolic.
We are going to talk a bit more about the Crocus flower and its meaning, symbolism, and colors. Its most important meaning is related to healing, but there is much more behind this beautiful flower. If you are interested in the Crocus flower, keep on reading.
What Is The Meaning of the Crocus Flower?
Flower symbolism develops through many centuries backward. Different cultural influences shape it and form a strong and powerful meaning of each flower.
You maybe have to dig a bit deeper in the research, but in the end, you will find a true and powerful meaning of the flower you are interested in.
The main meanings of the Crocus flower are:
• Youth,
• Glee,
• Gladness.
Crocus flower has a meaning of youth and takes us to the days of our childhood when we were carefree and happy. This flower’s bright and playful colors bring in optimism in your life and make you forget about everyday worries.
Youth is one of the most beautiful periods in life and everybody looks back at it gladly. If you are still young, be aware of the fact that the time passes by quickly and you should take the best of every moment. Enjoy your youth and love life, that is one of the Crocus flower’s meanings.
Crocus flower also has a meaning of glee and happiness. If you want to surprise a person who makes you happy and bring in positivity in your life, the Crocus flower would be a great way to say express your appreciation and say thank you.
On the other side, if someone you love feels a bit down and needs some new energy and optimism, the Crocus flower will lift them up and say that you are there to support them. It actually doesn’t matter what kind of relationship you have with that person, as the Crocus flower has an overall positive meaning.
Do you know that feeling when you meet someone all of a sudden and that person gives you so much positive energy and truly makes your day? If you run across someone like this recently, make sure to send them a bouquet of the Crocus flowers to say how glad you are because you two met. Crocus flower is a gentle flower and it will send the right message – a better one than words can do.
The Etymology of the Crocus Flower
When we talk about the etymology of the Crocus flower, it actually has several etymological meanings.
According to its Latin origins, this flowers was named after the word crocatus, which in Latin means saffron yellow. Crocus flower gives us a spice called Saffron and it comes in about 80 different species of this flower. Saffron Crocus, or Crocus sativus, is a flowering plant from Iridaceae family who delivers saffron spice. if you want to use it as a seasoning, you should dry it well. Saffron comes from the Arabic word frans and means yellow, which is the very color of this spice.
The Symbolism of the Crocus Flower
Crocus flower’s Greek origins tell us about a legend. According to the Greeks, the Crocus flower got its name after a Greek word for golden fiber. The Greeks used the golden fiber to make the Saffron spice. One more Greek legend is associated with the Crocus flower.
Once upon a time, there was a Greek nobleman whose name was Crocus. Crocus fell in love with a beautiful shepherdess, Smilax. Yet, the gods have forbidden their marriage and Crocus killed himself.
Beautiful Smilax cried for days, as she couldn’t stand the loss of her beloved one. Seeing this, the Goddess Flora decided to stop her sadness and turned Smilax into a vine and her beloved Crocus’s body was turned into a flower. Since then, people use vines and Crocus flowers for wedding decorations as they symbolize eternal love and devotion.
Crocus flower is used in Egypt too, as they believe it prevents fumes from alcoholic drinks. Spray some flowers over the glasses and there you go!
Ancient Romans enjoyed the scent of the Crocus flower and sprayed it all over their houses and used it as a perfume.
Crocus Flower – Color and Meaning
Crocus flower comes in purple, white, and yellow color.
Purple Crocus flower represents pride, dignity, success, extravagance, royalty, nobility, and mystery. This flower is a perfect gift for anyone who likes to be different, unique, and who is a bit eccentric. As purple color doesn’t stand for a particular type of love, you can gift the purple Crocus flower to your friends, family, or colleagues.
White Crocus flower symbolizes innocence, sincerity, purity, and truth. As we mentioned earlier, ancient people believed the Crocus flower symbolizes eternal love. That is why the white Crocus flower is so common decoration at weddings, but you can also use it for decorating baby showers and baptisms.
Yellow Crocus flower is a representation of joy, happiness, positive energy, and optimism in general. You can use it to decorate your home and bring in some new energy and happiness in your home or to gift a bouquet of the yellow Crocus flowers to someone whom you want good opportunities and good vibes only.
Botanical Characteristics of the Crocus flower
Crocus flower is largely used in culinary, but this doesn’t mean it is less valuable because of this fact. People across the world use this respected spice for everyday use. Saffron has a characteristic rich flavor and many calls it the king of spices. It is mostly used with Italian rice, chicken, lamb, French fish soup, Spanish paella from Valencia, and Indian sweet sauces. Saffron gives a smoky and gourmet taste to any dish. People from the 10th century BC used it for cooking, which already tells you enough about the plant’s worth and use. The Phoenician traders carried into their journeys, while the Romans and Greeks used it for baths.
Crocus flower doesn’t propagate by seed, but by dividing the bulbs, so the claims that it originates from eastern Greece and Crete are only partly true.
Crocus flower comes from a family of potatoes and this is a perennial plant. The spice of saffron is actually derived from the stigmas of each flower, while there are only three stigmas in one flower. Iran and Spain are the largest producers of saffron and take over 80% of overall world production. When we talk about Europe and region, only Mediterranean area uses and produces saffron. France, Greece, Crete, Italy, and China produces saffron, but in much smaller quantities.
The Spanish have a couple categories of saffron. The rarest one is Coupe and it is sold in very modest quantities. The second one is Mancha with its deep red color and is rated as top quality saffron. Lighter colored and a bit poor taste saffron comes as Rio and Sierra and these are not that highly appreciated.
Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and England have been trying to produce saffron, but with a little success. The only place of production here is Mundu, Swiss village that produces a few pounds of saffron a year.
The largest saffron production happens to be in Iran. Turkey and India also involved in the production of this spice. Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world because of the short season of flowering – only three weeks a year. When your Crocus flower grows fully, it will give you two to nine flowers, it depends. There are three red-orange pumice lengths inside each Crocus flower large from 25 to 30 mm. The good thing is that you need just a little bit of seasoning to spice the dish – about 1/10 grams.
As saffron is so expensive, some people came up with the idea of producing substitutes. One of these is Indian Saffron Curcuma or Mexican saffron, which paints a dish in beautiful yellow-orange color but none of these is the right substitute for the real saffron.
Plant early bulbs of the Crocus flower in the fall before the ground freezes. Stay away from the dense shade on the north side, as your Crocus flower won’t grow here. It would be ideal to plant your bulbs about 8 weeks before the first frost – October/November.
If you plant the bulbs of the Crocus flower in soggy ground, there is a great chance they will rot, so make sure the soil is well drained. Crocus flower loves compost and shredded leaves, so cover the bulb with 10inches of such compost. It also needs well watering and an average depth of planting – 3 to 4 inches deep. Plant your bulbs in groups or clusters, but still, give them some space if you have 10 bulbs in a group. Crocus flowers form carpets, so it would be best to plant them in big lawns and meadows.
Crocus Flower – Fun Facts
Crocus is a cup-shaped flower with 6 petals.
Each Crocus flower has 3 male and 3 female reproductive organs.
It takes 80,000 of the Crocus flowers to produce one ounce of saffron.
Cave dwellers used the Crocus flower to paint caves 50,000 years ago.
According to studies, saffron has anti-tumor and anti-bacterial properties.
Your Crocus plant will live for about two years.
Crocus flower doesn’t grow tall – it reaches only 8 to 12 inches.
Crocus flower comes in two types – snow crocus and giant dutch, which is a hybrid.
Conclusion
Just like every flower, the Crocus flower carries a secret message. It tells us that we should think positively and look at the brighter side of life.
Also, appreciate people who bring in positivity into your life, even though you don’t meet them as often.
