Welcome to this week’s {floral friday}!
At first, when seeing today’s flower at the flower market, I thought it was a thistle (though I had never seen them in orange).. Even though those two flowers, thistles and safflowers, resemble each other a lot, they have one characteristic that sets them apart: Safflowers don’t have prickles! ;)
A few facts about the safflower:
- The genus name “Carthamus” is derived from an Arabic word meaning to paint or to dye, in reference to the brilliant colored dyes yielded by the flowers. The specific epithet “tinctorius” loosely means for dyeing, used in dyeing or used by dyers.
- In addition to being cultivated as cut flowers, safflowers are widely grown for the edible oil contained in their seeds and as a source of yellow, orange and red dyes used in food coloring and rouge.
- Safflowers are available year-round from a variety of domestic and foreign growers; however, peak season is from about April through November. {source}
I’m partying here! ♥
{1} Pig Logs and ‘tater Berries: 
