Safflower - Carthamus tinctorius
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Species Description
Widespread but rare casual originating from birdseed. Other names include: False Saffron, American Saffron, Dyer's Saffron, Fake Saffron, Saffron Thistle, Bastard Saffron, Rouge Plant, Safflower Oil Plant.
Stace 4:
Carthamus tinctorius L. - Safflower.
Stems erect, glabrous, to 60cm; leaves and outer phyllaries entire to shallowly lobed with bristly or softly spine-tipped lobes; corolla yellow to reddish-orange; pappus 0; (2n=24). Neophyte-casual; tips, waste and rough ground, from birdseed; rather frequent in South Britain, very scattered further North and in Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man; South West Asia.