Saffron (Crocus sativus) plant of the family Iridaceae; detail flower in three different stages of opening in a crop of small plot of land in Piedmont (Monferrato). The pretty plant bulb is cultivated in Asia Minor and in many countries around the Mediterranean including Italy; where crops are more extensive in the Marche; Abruzzo and Sardinia. By stigma trifid it get the spice known as "saffron"; used in cooking and in some medical preparations. Photo by Patrizia Piccini; Ponzone (AL); 2014.