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Safflower is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds. Plants are 12 to 59 in tall with globular flower heads having yellow, orange, or red flowers. Each branch will usually have from one to five flower heads containing 15 to 20 seeds per head. Safflower is native to arid environments having seasonal rain. It grows a deep taproot which enables it to thrive in such environments.

Safflower is one of humanity's oldest crops. Chemical analysis of ancient Egyptian textiles dated to the Twelfth Dynasty identified dyes made from safflower, and garlands made from safflowers were found in the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Safflower was also known as carthamine in the nineteenth century.

It is a minor crop today, with about 600,000 tons being produced commercially in more than sixty countries worldwide. India, United States, and Mexico are the leading producers, with Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, China, the Arab World, Argentina, Tanzania (Kibaigwa, Kongwa District) and Australia accounting for most of the remainder.

Traditionally, the crop was grown for its seeds, and used for coloring and flavoring foods, in medicines, and making red (carthamin) and yellow dyes, especially before cheaper aniline dyes became available. For the last fifty years or so, the plant has been cultivated mainly for the vegetable oil extracted from its seeds.

Safflower seed oil is flavorless and colorless, and nutritionally similar to sunflower oil. It is used mainly in cosmetics and as a cooking oil, in salad dressing, and for the production of margarine. It may also be taken as a nutritional supplement.

In dietary use, high-linoleic safflower oil has also been shown to increase adiponectin, a protein that helps regulate blood glucose levels and fatty-acid breakdown.

In culinary use, safflower oil compares favorably with other vegetable oils with its high smoke point.

Ancient Egyptians found the flower pleasing to the eye and included it in garlands placed on mummies. Dried safflower flowers are used in traditional Chinese medicine to alleviate pain, increase circulation, and reduce bruising.

Small annual flowering plant with the most intense blue color. The blue pigment is protocyanin, which in roses is red. In the past it often grew as a weed in crop fields, hence its name (fields growing grains such as wheat, barley, rye, or oats were formerly known as "corn fields"). It is now endangered in its native habitat by agricultural intensification, particularly over-use of herbicides, destroying its habitat. It is now naturalized in many parts of the world, including North America and parts of Australia. It is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens, where several cultivars have been selected with varying pastel colors, including pink and purple. Centaurea is also grown for the cutflower industry in the U.S. for use by florists. The most common color variety for this use is a doubled blue variety. Seeds germinate quickly after planting.

The flower is occasionally used as a culinary ornament and prized historically for their blue pigment. Cornflowers are often used as an ingredient in some tea blends and herbal teas. In herbalism, a decoction of cornflower is effective in treating conjunctivitis, and as a wash for tired eyes.

In folklore, cornflowers were worn by young men in love; if the flower faded too quickly, it was taken as a sign that the man's love was not returned. The blue cornflower has been the national flower of Estonia since 1968 and symbolizes daily bread to Estonians. It is also the symbol of the Finnish political party, and the Swedish political party, and has since the dawn of the 20th century been a symbol for social liberalism there. The blue cornflower is also one of the national flowers of Germany.

Species and varieties:

Centaurea crocodylium

Centaurea cyanus

Centaurea dealbata

Centaurea gymnocarpa

Centaurea ragusina

Chromolaena odorata grows in many soil types but prefers well-drained soils, (PIER, 2003). It does not tolerate shade and thrives well in open areas (FAO). Requires disturbance to become established. It will not grow in waterlogged or saline soils. It can occur in most tropical and sub-tropical terrestrial habitats below 1000 m altitude, except for undisturbed rainforest. It requires at least 1200 mm annual rainfall, but tolerates severe dry seasons

Chromolaena odorata is used as a traditional medicine in Vietnam, the aqueous extract and the decoction from the leaves of this plant have been used throughout Vietnam for the treatment of soft tissue wounds, burn wounds, and skin infections.

Excellent cut flowers. Commonly grown in the flower garden, it is cultivated for its edible young shoots in China.

Chrysocephalum apiculatum (formerly Helichrysum apiculatum) is a very variable species. It is usually a small, spreading perennial or shrub up to about 0.3 metres high by 0.5 to 1.5 metres in width. Some forms spread by suckering. The linear or lance-shaped leaves are often silvery or greyish in appearance due to the presence of dense hairs and may be between 10 and 60 mm in length by about 5 - 15 mm wide. The bright yellow flower heads appear in clusters at the ends of the stems.

Propagation is easy from cuttings taken at any time of the year.

Coreopsis typically bloom bright yellow, daisy like flowers all summer and into the fall.

Sulphur cosmos is native to Mexico and introduced around the world.This species of Cosmos is considered a half-hardy annual, although plants may re-appear via self-sowing for several years.

The Globe Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) is a perennial thistle originating in Southern Europe around the Mediterranean. It grows to 1.4–2 metres (4.6–6.6 ft) tall, with arching, deeply lobed, silvery, glaucous-green leaves 50–82 centimetres (20–32 in) long. The flowers develop in a large head from an edible bud about 8–15 centimetres.

Dahlia imperialis is a large herbaceous plant standing typically between 2-6 meters tall. Though it can attain tree size, like other dahlias it is an herbaceous plant that dies down to the ground in cold weather.

Flower color is variable, ranging from mauve (most common) to pale pink and even pure white. The flower center is orange-yellow. Double flower forms also exist, both pure white and pink.