Safflower (
Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a highly branched,
herbaceous,
thistle-like
annual plant. It is commercially cultivated for
vegetable oil extracted from the
seeds. Plants are tall with globular
flower heads having
yellow,
orange, or
red flowers. Each branch will usually have from one to five flower heads containing 15 to 20 seeds per head. Safflower is native to arid environments having seasonal
rain. It grows a deep
taproot which enables it to thrive in such environments.