There is an extensive list of items that have been dyed to mimic the vibrant crimson stigmas of the real thing, including parts of other flowers, such as marigolds, carnations, poppies and safflower. Somewhat more daringly, people have disguised beet fibre, capsicum, corn silk, grass, onion and silk fibres as saffron; they have even fashioned threads from gelatin and the fibres of dried animal meats.
