Saffron, referred to in Song of Songs 4:14, comes from several species of Crocus, especially the blue-flowered saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). This plant is native to Greece and Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).
The commercial product consists of the stigma and upper portions of the style, which are parts of the flower's reproductive system. These parts are collected shortly after the flower opens. It takes at least 4,000 stigmas to make just one ounce of saffron. After being gathered, the stigmas are dried in the sun, pounded, and made into small cakes. Saffron is used mainly as a yellow dye and also as a food coloring for curries and stews.
Another completely different dye-producing plant is (Carthamus tinctorius), called carthamine, bastard saffron, or safflower. It is a member of the thistle family. Its red flower parts yield a dye used extensively for coloring silk, in cooking, and for mixing with genuine saffron. It is an annual spiny plant that grows 1.4 meters (3 to 4.5 feet) tall and is native to Syria and Egypt. In Egypt, the grave clothes of mummies were dyed with this material. It is quite possible that this plant may also have been the saffron mentioned in the Bible.