Safflower

Safflower ( Carthamus tinctorius )

Safflower ( Carthamus tinctorius ), safflower, safflower, safflower and called Wrong saffron, is a perennial plant of the sunflower family ( Asteraceae). Its natural distribution ranges from Egypt and the Near East to Central Europe. Today, there are deposits in Europe, North America and Australia. Your oleaginous seeds because it is cultivated mainly as an oil plant, besides also the use is possible as a dye plant.

Description

Safflower is a fast-growing, thistle -like, annual, herbaceous plant. From a rosette of leaves with a strong taproot, a branched main stem, the plant height of 60 to 130 centimeters is reached. Your thorny, elongated leaves with a length of 10-15 cm and a width of 2.5-5 cm run down the stem. It grows best in fertile and permeable soils because it forms deep taproots.

The bloom conditions sit at the end of each stem axis and each runner, have 3-5 cm in diameter and contain 20 to 150 fünfzipfelige, orange tubular flowers. The under constant two-bladed ovary form an ovule. safflower achenes forms as fruit. The shell portion of the nut fruit is 30-60 %, the oil content of between 20 and 40 % of dry matter.

Both wild-type as well as cultural forms have a diploid set of 2n = 24 chromosomes. From crosses with Carthamus palaestinus, C. oxyacanthus and C. persicus fertile offspring can occur.

Ecology

The safflower thrives in warm temperate regions of the world, to about -7 ° C, the plant is frost tolerant, they also considered to be relatively salt - and drought- tolerant. Fertilization takes place predominantly by self-fertilization, but also insect pollination occurs.

History

The safflower probably originates from Asia Minor and was in Egypt already 3500 BC for coloring mummy screens and other tissues used ( dye plant ). The seed oil was used in ancient times for ointments and as lamp oil. It is in the gardens of North Africa, Persia, China and Japan in culture for a long time. Already with the Romans, they came across the Mediterranean to Central Europe, where it was used at least since the 13th century. The flowers were used for coloring food, the fruits for medicinal purposes. From the 17th century there were systematic field crops in warm regions (Alsace, Thuringia, etc.). From the mid-18th century, the cultivation declined by safflower and saffron imports from the East and Egypt. Saflorrot was replaced in 1900 by synthetic aniline dyes.

A new upsurge of Safloranbaus towards the end of the 20th century is largely thanks to oil-rich varieties that are grown for industrial use. Worldwide 1996-2001 safflower were grown on 0.92 million hectares, the main producing areas are located in India, Mexico, the USA, Argentina and Australia.

Use

Safflower is grown mainly for the product obtained from the seeds of safflower oil, the very high proportions of the polyunsaturated linoleic acid (about 75 %) and has vitamin E. In addition, the oil for the production of paints and coatings is used, the pressing residue ( filter cake ) are used as animal feed. The oil processing is very similar to sunflower oil.

From the petals of dyes can be obtained, namely, the red coloring carthamin ( benzoquinone ) and the yellow dye Carthamidin flowers. The water-soluble dye is dissolved by leaching from the petals, then dried and won the Saflorrot in alkaline solution. Silk, wool and cotton can be, depending on the amount of color pink, cherry red, brown-red or brownish-yellow color, but the yellow dye is non -fading. Chance of the dyes are also used for cosmetics and as a food colorant, eg in fruit gum.

As a medicinal plant is considered the safflower in Asia, especially China. The petals are used there for teas. In Moldova, the safflower in folk medicine has been used for abortions.

Due to the high price of saffron safflower is also used as a substitute for this spice. The petals of the safflower can be distinguished with the naked eye from the filiform stigma lobes of saffron. In the real saffron stigmas are two to three inches long, funnel-shaped rolled up and nicked up.

As an ornamental plant for the garden and as a cut or dried flowers also thornless varieties have been bred.

Cultivation

It is grown on deep, well-drained soils with neutral soil reaction. Sowing and harvesting seasons are based on the very different climatic conditions of the growing regions, both summer and winter cultivation are practiced. Nutrient and water needs of the crop are considered to be high, also an effective weed control during the rosette stage is important. Many fungal pathogens can damage the plant, a fight with pesticides in the U.S. and Australia, partially possible in Germany, however, in this culture is not permitted. For oil extraction, the seeds are harvested when fully ripe with conventional combine harvesters

Fungal diseases

• Saflorrost (Puccinia Carthami )
• Phytophthora drechsleri
• Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
• Verticillium species
• Alternaria Carthami
• Cercospora Carthami