Safflower

LATIN NAME: Carthamus tinctorius

COMMON NAME: Safflower

Safflower is the upright, branching, thistle-like annual of the warm dry fields, one of the oldest of the crop plants. The sturdy, upright plant carries the glossy, dark-green leaves with the small, prickly teeth along the edges, and the round heads of the bright yellow to orange-red florets open through the summer. The plant has two long records of use at once, for the petals that give the fine, lasting red and yellow dyes, and for the oil of the seeds, a fine, light oil of the warm kitchens. It is a plant of the open, sunny, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The safflower shows up again and again in the plant science, studied for the round heads of the bright florets and the oil of the seeds. The way the petals give the fine, lasting red and yellow dyes has been looked at closely, and the plant keeps showing up in the work on the dye plants, the oil-seed crops and the plants of the warm dry fields. The sturdy, branching habit and the prickly leaves have also made it a fine, easy garden plant, and the safflower is a regular subject of the studies of the daisy family and the old crop plants of the warm world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The safflower pays its way in the garden and the wider world. The bright florets have a very long record of use in the fine, lasting red and yellow dyes of the old textiles, and they still find their place in the colouring of the foods and the cosmetics. The oil of the seeds is a fine, light oil of the warm kitchens, and the upright, thistle-like plant is an easy, cheerful presence of the sunny border and the wildflower patch. It has been written about in the agricultural and the culinary papers for the old dyes and the fine, light oil, and it is a fine, easy plant of the open, sunny, well-drained garden.

Safflower is one of the oldest of the crop plants, and the bright florets have a very long record of use in the fine, lasting red and yellow dyes of the old textiles. The seeds give a fine, light oil of the warm kitchens, and the petals still find their place in the colouring of the foods and the cosmetics.

To grow the safflower from seed, sow the large, wedge-shaped seeds about one centimetre deep in pots of moist, free-draining soil, keep them in a warm, bright spot and water gently. The seedlings come through within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun and the well-drained ground, the bright, thistle-like heads will open through the summer.

Uses: Medicinal