Safflower – Carthamus tinctorius

Common Name: Safflower

Botanical Name: Carthamus tinctorius, CAR-tha-mus tink-TOR-ee-us

Decorative Life: 7 days.

Flower Color: Orange, Yellow

Availability: Spring, Summer

Flowers should be harvested fairly open to help ensure maximum flower opening per stem and thereby maximum consumer enjoyment.

• Member of the Asteraceae or Compositae (aster or sunflower) family.
• Native to Europe and Asia.
• Related species include chrysanthemum, zinnia, artichoke.

• Flowers consist of 1 inch globular centers from which appear thin orange petals.
• Stems 20-28 inches long, with several branches bearing flowers at their ends.
• Plant is an annual, classed as a dicotyledon, leaves not parallel veined
• Flowers are not fragrant.

35-40F.

• Carthamus derives from the Arabic word “kurthum” or the Hebrew word “kartami” meaning to dye because the plant was used as a source of yellow/orange coloring. The specific epithet name “tinctorius” means belonging to dyes.
• Safflower has long been used medicinally, as the basis for Safflower oil, and as a substitute for saffron dye.
• Planted by some grape growers to dry out a field before new grape vines are planted.
• Flowers may be air-dried. Tender shoots of some types are edible. According to Creasy (1999), fresh petals are edible. Can be used as a yellow coloring with rice and other foods or sprinkle them over carrot salad.
• The Compositae or aster family is vast, with over 20,000 species, and is also one of the most developed families. It was named Compositae because the flowers are actually a “composite” of many individual flowers into one head. Hence, when children pull one “petal” off at a time, saying “she/he loves me, loves me not”, they are actually removing a complete flower, not just a petal.