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Carthamus (From the Arabic qurtom)

(from the Arabic qurtom, to paint; Hebrew qarthami; referring to the flowers yielding a fine colour). Safflower. ORD. Compositae. Pretty hardy annuals. Pappus paleaceous, hairy, or none; receptacle paleaceous, setose; involucre ovate, imbricated; scales ovate, leafy at end. They thrive in any ordinary soil. Seeds should be sown in a gentle hotbed, in spring; and, when the seedlings are large enough to handle, they should be transplanted to a situation where they are intended to flower. These plants should only be grown in large gardens.

C. lanatus (woolly). fl. heads yellow. South Europe, 1596. Hardy annual. (B. M. 2142.) C. oxyacantha (sharp-spined). fl. heads yellow. July. h. 2ft. Caucasus, 1818. C. tinctorius (dyers). Saffron Thistle. fl. heads orange. June. l. ovate, entire, spiny-toothed. Stem quite smooth. h. 3ft. Egypt, 1551. (B. R. 170.)