Carthamus tinctorius

Carthamus tinctorius L. is a dye plant.

It was introduced in the central plains of China along the silk route around 3rd century.

In the film Only Yesterday, (「おもひでぽろぽろ」 [Omohide Poro Poro] ), the main character Taeko Okajima spent some days in the countryside helping in the harvest and processing of safflower.

Colors
It yields a pink, red colour.

The main colorants are carthamin and precarthamin. The red dye content is about 0.3 to 0.6% of weight of the dried flowers.

Parts used
Flower, according to Bliss (1981)

Methods
In Manipur, India the petals of the flowers are collected and then bound in leihoura leaves, then rolled into small flattened balls. This process is called leipak semba. Other plants used in the process are dried banana stems and khujum pere.

Synonyms
Local names are: safflower in North America. In japanese the colour made by this plant is called 紅花 [benibana]. In India is called casala in hindi and kusum lei in Manipur. In China is called 紅花 [hong hua] meaning red flowers or 川紅花 [chuan hong hua] in chinese. In Spain is called cártamo from the arabic qurtum, and alazor from the arabic 'usfur.