Safflower oil yielding tropical plant, Carthamus tinctorius, widely cultivated in India, USA, Mediterranean region, and China. The dried florets were once the source of red to reddish yellow dye, and is still used for dying cloth, colouring confectioneries, and for rouge. It is now grown commercially as an oil seed crop; the oil is used extensively in paints and varnishes. In Bangladesh it is now planted in some limited areas of Dhaka and Faridpur districts as winter crop. The herbaceous plant (0.5-2 m) is much branched with spinaceous leaves and branches of inflorescence. The oil cake is a good fodder for poultry. [Mostafa Kamal Pasha]