an orange-flowered thistle-like Eurasian plant with seeds that yield an edible oil and petals that were formerly used to produce a red or yellow dye.
Carthamus tinctorius, family Compositae
(safflower oil) [mass noun] the edible oil obtained from the seeds of the safflower plant.
Origin:
late Middle English: from Dutch saffloer or German Saflor, via Old French and Italian from Arabic aṣfar 'yellow'. The spelling has been influenced by saffron and flower
