Yellow saffron, also known as American saffron or safflower, is a wild herb that grows in the United States. It is used for dyeing, cooking oil, and herbal remedies, and has been genetically modified to produce insulin for diabetics. Saffron tea was traditionally used for gastrointestinal issues and fever.
Yellow saffron (Carthamus tinctorius) is the common name for American saffron or safflower. Unlike red saffron, which comes from the purple saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) and is commonly used in Thai foods, yellow saffron is a common wild herb that grows primarily in the United States. The yellow saffron flowering plant is also known as Dyer’s saffron, false saffron, flores carthami, Mexican saffron, or bastard saffron. The plant is an annual and grows to a height of nearly 3 feet (0.9 m).
The yellow saffron plant grows a single stalk with small, compact flowers resembling those of a thistle plant. The flower blooms during the summer months of June or July and reaches maturity during the month of August. Upon reaching maturity, the flower takes on a deep yellow or red color, and this colored material is sometimes harvested for use as a dyeing agent. Historically, the yellow substance of the flower has been used in cosmetic applications and for dyeing fabrics used for everyday use or in burial wraps.
The seeds of the yellow saffron plant produce a tasteless and odorless polyunsaturated oil, so the plant is sometimes grown for this use. The oil is marketed alone under the name safflower oil or combined with other oils for flavor. In addition to its use as a cooking oil, the oil from the yellow saffron plant is also used to make paint or varnish.
Yellow saffron has been used for centuries as an herbal remedy for a variety of ailments. Holistic medicine scholar Edgar Cayce proposed the use of yellow saffron flower for its laxative and diaphoretic qualities. The plant has also been used to reduce the symptoms of fever, measles, psoriasis, digestive disorders, and various rashes caused by skin disorders. In 2007, yellow saffron began to see further use in the medical field when genetically modified crops were grown to produce insulin for diabetics.
In the past, saffron-infused water, commonly called saffron tea, was made by steeping the flowers of the yellow saffron plant in heated water. This hot tea was commonly used for its effects on the gastrointestinal system and for reducing fever. While the practice is still observed by some herbal medicine practitioners, the use of herbal teas as medicine has largely been replaced by drugs in the general population.
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