The Benibana Museum (The Safflower Museum)
6. Flora of Benibana (紅花の植物誌)
Botanical name <Carthamus Tinctorius L.> this was named by Linnaeus in 1753.
Benibana has 0.5～1.2 meters heigh stem and the leaves are hard and alternated. The tip of leaves was thick green and widethorn. And the edge of leaves has prickles and it bears a bright yellow flower like thistles at the head of July. Soon its petal turns red. The flower comes to bloom at the head of a stem and forms flowers at the tip like 2.5～4.0 centimeters diameter and they are tubular. At first, the flower comes at the main stem and then spread from other branches. An involucre is bigger outside and it becomes leaves and has a thorn at the edge and its hypothecium is white and lucid. Its length is 6 millimeters and the plumes is very short and it matures at the beginning of August. The diameter is deep and the plant dislikes to be transplanted.
Benibana is cultivated for dyeing material and cosmetics like lipstick and so forth.