Saffron is the world's most expensive spice obtained from the dried stigma of the Crocus sativus plant. Saffron, a male-sterile triploid plant, has been vegetatively propagated for 3600 years, but the origins of the plant have long been the subject of debate.

In a study conducted jointly with IPK in 2018, C. cartwrightianus (wild saffron) was the only parent of C. sativus (saffron) and that its origins could be traced to the region of Attica / Greece were hypothesized.

A study analysing the chloroplast genomes and genome-wide DNA polymorphisms in crocus species was performed at the IPK Gatersleben, and it shows that saffron evolved in Attica, Greece, through the combination of two different genotypes of the wild crocus C. cartwrightianus.

With this scientific development, saffron growers can take a step to create new genotypes of this plant, which has low genetic diversity due to vegetative reproduction.

Here are the links to both (2018 & 2019) articles:

Nemati, Z., Harpke, D., Gemicioglu, A., Kerndorff, H. and Blattner, F.R., 2019. Saffron (Crocus sativus) is an autotriploid that evolved in Attica (Greece) from wild Crocus cartwrightianus. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 136, pp.14-20.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790319300879 

Nemati, Z., Blattner, F.R., Kerndorff, H., Erol, O. and Harpke, D., 2018. Phylogeny of the saffron-crocus species group, Crocus series Crocus (Iridaceae). Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 127, pp.891-897.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790317308229