Common name: Safflower
Carthamus tinctorius L. APNI* 
Description: Herb to 60 cm high; stem glabrous or with a few minute hairs, striate.
Leaves ovate to lanceolate, 2–12 cm long, with long spines on margins; glabrous.
Heads 15–35 mm diam.; outer involucral bracts leaf-like, spreading to deflexed, rigid, pungent-pointed; inner bracts with ovate leaf-like appendage. Corollas bright orange.
Achenes 7–8 mm long; pappus absent or rarely a few minute scales.
Flowering: winter–summer.
Distribution and occurrence: Sometimes cultivated for its oil-yielding seeds, on roadsides, from southwest Sydney to the Pooncarie area. Native of Eur.
NSW subdivisions: *CC, *CT, *NWS, *CWS, *SWS, *NWP, *SWP, *NFWP, *SFWP
Other Australian states: *Qld *Vic. *Tas. *W.A.
Text by L. Murray
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 3 (1992)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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