Birth flower for June 24
Safflower
Meaning: Adornment, generosity
Safflower opens yellow and slowly turns orange-red. Its red pigment makes up only a tiny fraction of each flower, so huge harvests were needed to make rouge and dye. In The Tale of Genji the nickname Suetsumuhana refers to safflower, and it is the prefectural flower of Yamagata in Japan. Its seeds are also pressed for safflower oil.