safflower

noun

Etymology: From Middle French safleur; originally from Arabic أَصْفَر (ʔaṣfar, “yellow”) but influenced by safran (“saffron”) and fleur (“flower”).

1. A cultivated thistle-like plant, Carthamus tinctorius, family Asteraceae, now grown mainly for its oil.

   “Safflower is unusual: if you add alkalis to the dye broth it is yellow; with acids it goes a beautiful crimson pink which is the colour of the original ‘red’ tape once tied around legal documents in England […].”