A couple of weeks ago I saw these really neat flowers at the store. I have never seen anything quite like them before. I thought that they would open up more but they never did. It is just the orange/yellow tops sticking out of the green bulb.
This is what I have learned about this unique flower:
Carthamus tinctorius, one the oldest cultivated plants of record. Seeds have been found in pharaohs' tombs dating back at least to 2000 B.C. and safflower has been cultivated by the ancient Chinese as an oil crop and for medicinal use. In more recent centuries the flowers have been used for yellow, orange and red dyes as well as 'saffron-like' food additives. In the U.S. in the first half of the last century saffron oil was used as a high-quality paint medium. Today the oil is a readily-available cosmetic & food additive, including its use as a cooking and salad oil.
what some cool flowers... have you sqeezed the oil out of them and used it in your salad..?? I think they are beautiful and it was pretty neat of you to find out more about them.. Hope your having a good day!
ReplyDelete