Carthamus tinctorius
Carthamus lanatus
common safflower-thistle, safflower, saffron distaff-thistle
distaff thistle, saffron thistle, woolly distaff thistle, woolly safflower-thistle
± stramineous, glabrous.
rigidly erect, openly branched distally, stramineous.
usually all cauline, dark green;
blades lanceolate to elliptic or broadly ovate, 2–8.5 cm, margins dentate with minutely spine-tipped teeth, veiny, shiny.
basal and cauline;
basal often absent at anthesis, petioles winged, blades 10–15 cm, margins pinnately 1–2-divided into linear or lanceolate spine-tipped lobes;
cauline spreading or recurved, lanceolate to ovate, rigid, clasping, 3–7-veined from base, margins with narrow spine-tipped lobes, spinose-acuminate.
ovoid, 20–40 mm diam., ± glabrous.
ovoid, body 25–35 mm, usually ± tomentose.
yellow to red, 20–30 mm, throats abruptly expanded;
anthers yellow to red;
pollen yellow to red.
yellow, sometimes red- or black-veined, 25–35 mm, throats gradually expanded;
anthers yellow;
pollen yellow.
spreading to reflexed, 1.5–2 times longer than inner, terminal appendages minutely spiny-toothed, minutely spine-tipped.
ascending or ± spreading, 35–50 mm, usually not more than 1.5 times as long as inner, terminal appendages spreading to ascending, linear-lanceolate, spiny lobed, prominently spine-tipped.
white, 7–9 mm, slightly roughened;
pappus scales absent or if present, 1–4 mm.
brown, 4–6 mm, the outer roughened;
pappus scales 1–13 mm.
= 24.
= 44.
Carthamus tinctorius
Carthamus lanatus
Carthamus tinctorius is apparently native originally to the eastern Mediterranean; it is known only in cultivation and as escapes today. Safflower has been reported from Texas; I have not seen the specimen.
Safflower is cultivated as an oil seed, a source of vegetable dye, as birdseed, and as an ornamental. It is one of the earliest known crop plants, with cultivation dating back to prehistoric times. In the United States safflower is grown principally in California and Arizona; it has been a successful crop in every state west of the 100th meridian.
Carthamus oxyacantha M. Bieberstein (wild safflower) was collected in 1978 in Monterey County, California. It is considered by the United States Department of Food and Agriculture to be a noxious weed subject to eradication if found. In central and southern Asia it is a pernicious weed of agricultural lands and other disturbed ground. Carthamus oxyacantha most closely resembles cultivated safflower; it has smaller heads and much spinier leaves. Its cypselae are usually darkly pigmented, smaller (4–5 mm versus 5.5–9 mm), and almost always lack pappi.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Native to the Mediterranean region, Carthamus lanatus is a viciously spiny noxious weed, sometimes forming nearly impenetrable stands. In rangelands it is known to injure the eyes and mouths of livestock, and it tends to spread when more palatable plants are consumed. Because of the close relationship between the cultivated safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) and its weedy relatives, biocontrol has not been an option for controlling weedy species such as C. lanatus.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
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- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
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