Carthamnus tinctorius

Taxonomy and growth

Family

Compositae

Genus

Carthamnus

Life cycle

annual

Height

1 m

Spread

0.35 m

Fertility

Self fertile, Insects

Flower type

hermaphrodite

Pollinators

Insects

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

An edible oil is obtained from the seed. It contains a higher percentage of essential unsaturated fatty acids and a lower percentage of saturated fatty acids than other edible vegetable seed oils^[23]. The oil, light coloured and easily clarified, is used in salad dressings, cooking oils and margarines^{[16][26][30][25][27][15][21][23]}. A very stable oil, it is said to be healthier than many other edible oils and its addition to the diet helps to reduce blood-cholesterol levels^[19]. Seed - cooked. They can be roasted, or fried and eaten in chutneys^{[29][2][15][23]}. Tender young leaves and shoots - cooked or raw^[2][9][12]. A sweet flavour, they can be used as a spinach^[14][15]. A famine food, it is only used when all else fails^[13]. An edible yellow and a red dye are obtained from the flowers^[21]. The yellow is used as a saffron substitute to flavour and colour food^[15][21]. The (fried?) seeds are used as a curdling agent for plant milks etc^[15].

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Safflower is commonly grown as a food plant, but also has a wide range of medicinal uses. Modern research has shown that the flowers contain a number of medically active constituents and can, for example, reduce coronary heart disease and lower cholesterol levels^[22][24]. Alterative, analgesic, antibacterial, antiphlogistic, haemopoietic^[5][10][13]. Treats tumours and stomatitis^[10]. The flowers are anticholesterolemic, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, laxative, purgative, sedative and stimulant^{[26][30][6][11][20][23]}. They are used to treat menstrual pains and other complications by promoting a smooth menstrual flow^[18] and were ranked third in a survey of 250 potential anti-fertility plants^[18]. In domestic practice, the flowers are used as a substitute or adulterant for saffron in treating infants complaints such as measles, fevers and eruptive skin complaints^[26][23]. Externally, they are applied to bruising, sprains, skin inflammations, wounds etc^[19]. The flowers are harvested in the summer and can be used fresh or dried^[19]. They should not be stored for longer than 12 months^[19]. It is possible to carefully pick the florets and leave the ovaries behind so that seed can be produced, though this procedure is rather more time-consuming^[19]. The plant is febrifuge, sedative, sudorific and vermifuge^[18]. When combined with Ligusticum wallichii it is said to have a definite therapeutic effect upon coronary diseases^[18]. The seed is diuretic, purgative and tonic^[20]. It is used in the treatment of rheumatism^[20] and tumours, especially inflammatory tumours of the liver^[23]. The oil is charred and used to heal sores and treat rheumatism^[20]. In Iran, the oil is used as a salve for treating sprains and rheumatism^[23].

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The seed yields up to 40% of a drying oil^[3], it is used for lighting, paint, varnishes, linoleum and wax cloths^[28][9][23]. The oil can also be used as a diesel substitute^[23]. It does not yellow with age^[3]. When heated to 300°c for 2 hours and then poured into cold water, the oil solidifies to a gelatinous mass and is then used as a cement for glass, tiles, stones etc or as a substitute for 'plaster of Paris'. If the oil is heated to 307°c for 2½ hours, it suddenly becomes a stiff elastic solid by polymerization and can then be used in making waterproof cloth etc^[3]. A yellow dye is obtained by steeping the flowers in water, it is used as a saffron substitute^{[16][26][30][5][9][19]}. A red dye can be obtained by steeping the flowers in alcohol^[7][9][19]. It is used for dyeing cloth and, mixed with talcum powder, is used as a rouge to colour the cheeks^[21].

Environment

Range

N. Africa - Egypt. A rare casual in Britain^[8].

Habitat

Poor dry soils in full sun.

Light

full sun

Shade tolerance

no shade

Water

moderate

Soil textures

sandy, loamy

Soil pH

acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline

Drainage

well drained

Tolerances

drought

Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil

No

Drought

tolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil^[1][7]. Safflower thrives in heavy clays with good water-holding capacity, but will also grow satisfactorily in deep sandy or clay loams with good drainage^[23]. It needs soil moisture from the time of planting until it is flowering^[23]. It requires a well-drained soil and a position in full sun^[4][7][19]. Safflower is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation of 20 to 137cm, an annual average temperature range of 6.3 to 27.5deg.C and a pH in the range of 5.4 to 8.2^[23]. Plants are reported to tolerate bacteria, disease, drought, frost, fungus, high pH, phage, salt, sand, rust, virus and wind^[23]. Safflower grows in the temperate zone in areas where wheat and barley do well, and grows slowly during periods of cool short days in early part of season. Seedlings can withstand temperatures lower than many species; however, varieties differ greatly in their tolerance to frost; in general, frost damages budding and flowering thus reducing yields and quality^[23]. Safflower is a long-day plant, requiring a photoperiod of about 14 hours. It is shade and weed intolerant, will not grow as a weed because other wild plants overshadow it before it becomes established. It is about as salt tolerant as cotton, but less so than barley^[23]. Safflower matures in from 110-150 days from planting to harvest as a spring crop, as most of it is grown, and from 200 or more days as an autumn-sown crop^[23]. It should be harvested when the plant is thoroughly dried. Since the seeds do not shatter easily, it may be harvested by direct combining. The crop is allowed to dry in the fields before threshing^[23]. Plants are self-fertile, though cross-pollination also takes place^[23]. Plants have a sturdy taproot that can penetrate 2.5 metres into the soil^[23]. Safflower has been grown for thousands of years for the dye that can be obtained from the flowers^[19]. This is not much used nowadays, having been replaced by chemical dyes, but the plant is still widely cultivated commercially for its oil-rich seed in warm temperate and tropical areas of the world. There are many named varieties^[10][17]. A number of spineless cultivars have been developed, but at present these produce much lower yields of oil than the spiny varieties^[23]. Safflower is unlikely to be a worthwhile crop in Britain since it only ripens its seed here in long hot summers. There is more chance of success in the drier eastern part of the country with its usually warmer summers, the cooler moister conditions in the west tend to act against the production of viable seed[K].

Related plants

• Carthamnus lanatusDistaff Thistle
• Achillea ageratumMace
• Achillea erba-rotta moschataMusk Milfoil
• Achillea millefoliumYarrow

References

1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

   ↩

2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

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3. Chakravarty. H. L. The Plant Wealth of Iraq.

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4. Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989-00-00

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5. Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979-00-00 ISBN 0-87857-262-7

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6. ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X

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7. Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.

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8. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

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9. Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952-00-00

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10. Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.

    ↩1↩2↩3

11. Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985-00-00

    ↩

12. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

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13. Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre

    ↩1↩2

14. Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977-00-00

    ↩

15. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

16. Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6

    ↩1↩2

17. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩

18. Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

19. Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0-7513-020-31

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20. Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

21. Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-330-30725-8

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

22. Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996-00-00 ISBN 9-780751-303148

    ↩

23. Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7↩8↩9↩10↩11↩12↩13↩14↩15↩16↩17↩18↩19↩20

24. Medicinal Plants in the Republic of Korea World Health Organisation, Manila 1998-00-00 ISBN 92 9061 120 0

    ↩

25. Harrison. S. Wallis. M. Masefield. G. The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press 1975-00-00

    ↩

26. Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984-00-00 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

27. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

28. Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.

    ↩

29. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

30. Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984-00-00 ISBN 0-356-10541-5

    ↩1↩2↩3