The world's most expensive spice could provide a lifeline to Colorado farmers

Alexander the Great, king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, reportedly bathed in saffron to heal his battle wounds. Doctors once prescribed this rare plant as a treatment for the bubonic plague. Cleopatra even used it as a fragrance to entice potential suitors. And now, this tiny flower associated with the Middle East could have a new use: providing Colorado farmers with supplemental income in the drought-stricken American West.

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