I have always wondered how in the world the first people to try the styles in cooking thought to do so. I can understand throwing flowers into a cuisine, the whole flower, like squash blossoms or nasturtium petals. But just the styles? What were they thinking? Once they found what a wonderful spice it was, it's easy to understand why they would then keep selecting for longer length styles. --Lee Poulsen Pasadena, California, USA - USDA Zone 10a Latitude 34°N, Altitude 1150 ft/350 m On Nov 4, 2013, at 10:38 PM, John Grimshaw <john@oltarakwa.co.uk> wrote: > I have used the styles of Crocus cartwrightianus as saffron and they're > fine, just rather shorter than those of the cultigen C. sativus, selected > somewhere millennia ago for its exceptional style length.