Editing Safflower (section)

==History==
Safflower is one of humanity's oldest crops. It was first cultivated in [[Mesopotamia]], with archaeological traces possibly dating as early as 2500 BC.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Prance |editor1-first=Ghillean |editor2-last=Nesbitt |editor2-first=Mark |last1=Pearman |first1=Georgina |date=2005 |title=The Cultural History of Plants |publisher=Routledge |page=150 |isbn=0415927463}}</ref>

Chemical analysis of [[ancient Egypt]]ian textiles dated to the [[Twelfth dynasty of Egypt|Twelfth Dynasty]] (1991–1802 BC) identified dyes made from safflower, and garlands made from safflowers were found in the tomb of the [[pharaoh]] [[Tutankhamun]].<ref name=Zohary-211/> [[John Chadwick]] reports that the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] name for safflower ({{transliteration|grc|kárthamos}}, {{lang|grc|κάρθαμος}}) occurs many times in [[Linear B]] tablets, distinguished into two kinds: a white safflower (ka-na-ko re-u-ka, {{transliteration|grc|knākos leukā}}, {{lang|grc|κνάκος λευκά}}), which was measured, and red (ka-na-ko e-ru-ta-ra, {{transliteration|grc|knākos eruthrā}}, {{lang|grc|κνάκος ερυθρά}}) which was weighed. "The explanation is that there are two parts of the plant which can be used; the pale seeds and the red [[floret]]s."<ref>John Chadwick, ''The Mycenaean World'' (Cambridge: University Press, 1976), p. 120</ref>

The early Spanish colonies along the Rio Grande in [[New Mexico]] used safflower as a substitute for [[saffron]] in traditional recipes. An heirloom variety originating in [[Corrales, New Mexico]], called "Corrales Azafran", is still cultivated and used as a saffron substitute in [[New Mexican cuisine]].<ref name="nss">{{cite web|url=https://shop.nativeseeds.org/collections/herbs/products/hb014|title=Corrales Azafrán - Native-Seeds-Search|website=shop.nativeseeds.org}}</ref> Also in his 14th-century work ''Kaftor va-Ferach ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: כפתור ופרח)'', [[Ishtori Haparchi]] noted that the inhabitants of the Land of Israel in his time used Safflower to dye their food as a substitute for ''[[Crocus sativus]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Amar |first=Zohar |last2= |first2= |date=1993 |title=Estori ha-Parchi and the Identification of the Flora of Eretz Israel |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23536280 |journal=Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies |language=he |volume=11 |pages=137 |issn=0333-9068}}</ref>