Safflower Zanzibar – Carthamus Tinctorius

Description

This variety of safflower is an annual and features bright orange thistle like flower heads. Safflower is used for dried arrangements and its bloom is everlasting when dried. The plant is widely cultivated for its edible oil, which is extracted from the seeds. It contains triglycerides of the doubly unsaturated linoleic acid, and the triply unsaturated linolenic acid; the latter is, together with the comparatively high content of vitamin E, responsible for the good reputation of saf­flower oil.