Safflower helps prevent painful periods

The Safflower, Carthamus tinctorius (though an n is often inserted, so you may find it with the label Carthamnus tinctorius) goes by a number of other names, including Saffron Thistle, Dyer’s Saffron, False Saffron and American Saffron. As one of the names suggests, it’s a type of thistle, but of a luscious orange color which is very attractive. It is not related to the true saffron or to the meadow saffron.

Safflower is a fast growing annual, reaching a height of 1m (3 feet). It requires full sun all day, and must not be planted in even partial shade. If your garden is in the UK or somewhere with a similar climate, it is best to sow the seed indoors in early Spring, potting on as necessary until late Spring/early Summer, when you can plant them out, keeping them away from Solanaceae (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, aubergines) and Cucurbits (squash, melons, cucumbers).  It needs a long season to successfully produce seeds, and does not stand competition, so you need to keep the area well weeded.

Once it’s in flower, let the bees do their work, then remove the flowers (leaving the seed capsule behind if you are harvesting the seeds) and either use fresh or dry for later use. You may think all this is a lot of work for a plant without a huge range of medicinal uses – but you can also use the flowers for coloring as a substitute for saffron (which is extremely expensive), add shoots to the salad bowl and even use the plant as a vegetarian rennet substitute.

Use a flower infusion made from 1 teaspoon of flowers to 250ml (1 US cup, 8 fl oz) boiling water – allow to stand for at least 10 minutes, up to 4 hours, then strain for use – for painful periods, colds and flu and externally for bruises and joint pain. A seed infusion made from 2 teaspoons of seeds to 250ml (1 US cup, 8 fl oz) water and made in the same way as above can be used externally to treat rheumatism and joint pain.

As with all plants intended for use as herbal remedies (well, really anything you’re going to eat), it’s important that Safflower is grown organically to avoid its active chemicals being adulterated by foreign substances. To find out more about growing organic safflower visit the Gardenzone.

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