From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
Also bastard saffron. A plant, Carthamus tinctorius, originally cultivated in Egypt but found also in southern Europe, North Africa, parts of Asia, and India, where it is known as koosumbha, safflower is prized chiefly for its brightly colored flowers, which yield red and yellow dyes and a saffron substitute. The name comes from a combination of "saffron" and "flower." Today, we know of safflower as a polyunsaturated oil extracted from its seeds.
