Carthamus
Encyclopedia
The genus Carthamus the distaff thistles, includes about 14 species of Mediterranean
plants in the daisy family
. The best known species is the safflower
.
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
plants in the daisy family
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
. The best known species is the safflower
Safflower
Safflower is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds. Plants are 30 to 150 cm tall with globular flower heads having yellow, orange or red flowers. Each branch will usually have from one to five flower heads...
.
Species
- Carthamus arborescens L. - Southern Spain and North-Western Africa
- Carthamus boissieri Halácsy, plant of the Greek islands
- Carthamus creticusCarthamus creticusCarthamus creticus is a species of Carthamus. It is native to the Mediterranean....
L. - Carthamus dentatus (Forssk.) Vahl, plant of the Balkans and Turkey.
- Carthamus lanatusCarthamus lanatusCarthamus lanatus is a species of thistle known as woolly distaff thistle or saffron thistle. It is closely related to safflower, which is in the same genus...
L., across the Mediterranean basin - Carthamus leucocaulosCarthamus leucocaulosCarthamus leucocaulos, the whitestem distaff thistle or glaucous starthistle, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family. It is native to Greece and the Aegean. It is known in California and Western Australia as an introduced species and a noxious weed.-External links:****...
Sibthorp & Smith - Carthamus tenuis (Boiss. & Blanche) Bornm., Eastern Mediterranean
- Carthamus tinctorius L. SafflowerSafflowerSafflower is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds. Plants are 30 to 150 cm tall with globular flower heads having yellow, orange or red flowers. Each branch will usually have from one to five flower heads...