ABSTRACT
L.) — an oilseed crop — is a member of the family Compositae or Asteraceae. Carthamus is the latinized synonym of the Arabic word
quartum
, or
gurtum
, which refers to the color of the dye extracted from safflower flowers. The English name
safflower
probably evolved from various written forms of
usfar
,
affore
,
asfiore
, and
saffiore
to
safflower
. Safflower has been grown in India since time immemorial. It is mentioned as
kusumba
in ancient scriptures. Presently, in India it is most commonly known as
kardai
in Marathi and
kusum
in Hindi. In China it is known as
hong hua
.
