A tousled redhead

This amazing little flower is called Carthamus tinctorius, commonly known as Safflower.  The seeds of this plant are made into Safflower Seed Oil. The dried petals are used as a herbal tea and the brightly coloured flowers contain an orange-red pigment: 'Carthamin' which is used as a dye in colouring textiles!

So it's not only a beautiful little plant, but such a useful one too!

In the neighbourhood above mine, there is a lovely flower shop that also sells plants from a nursery. I often find an unusual sprig of something flowery to put into a pretty bottle.  We cannot see the bottle here, but it will be appearing in future photos as it's so appealing!

I must takes some more photos of the unusual and lovely buds!