Safran
About 30 of the species are cultivated, including "Crocus sativus" for saffron production. The varieties cultivated for decoration mainly represent five species: "C. vernus", "C. chrysanthus", "C. flavus", "C. sieberi", and "C. tommasinianus". Among the first flowers to bloom in spring, crocuses are popular with gardeners. Their flowering time varies from the late winter "C. tommasinianus" to the later large hybridized and selected Giant "Dutch crocuses" ("C. vernus"). Crocus flowers and leaves are protected from frost by a waxy cuticle; in areas where snow and frost occasionally occur in the early spring, it is not uncommon to see early flowering crocuses blooming through a light late snowfall.