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Today, safflower is the dried flower of safflower Carthamus tinctorius L. of the Asteraceae family. Safflower is mainly cultivated, and commercial medicinal materials are divided according to their origin: safflower, mainly produced in Yanjin, Fengqiu, Ji County, Yuanyang, Wuzhi, and Wenxian, Henan; safflower, mainly produced in Jianyang, Ziyang, Nanchong, and Suining, Sichuan; Du safflower is mainly produced in Cixi, Yuyao, and Fuyang, Zhejiang; Jin safflower is mainly produced in Haimen, Qidong, Nantong, and Huaiyin, Jiangsu, and is sometimes also called Du safflower; Yun safflower is produced in Weishan, Yunnan. Among them, Huai Safflower from Qinyang County, Henan, Safflower from Jianyang City, Sichuan, and Du Safflower from Ningbo, Zhejiang are the most famous. In addition, it is also produced in Shaanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang, Shandong, North China, and Northeast China. It is commonly called safflower and has poor oiliness.

materia medica Research believes that safflower is an exotic plant that was introduced to China around the Han Dynasty. Its varieties have not changed from ancient to modern times. Among the commercial medicinal materials today, safflower, safflower, safflower, and safflower all have their historical origins and can all be determined according to their place of origin. Conduct GAP development research on suitability.

【Variety Review】

safflower is the abbreviation of "red and blue flower", one is yellow and blue, and the other is Yan branch. It is said that Zhang Qian brought it back when he visited the Western Regions. Kaibao Bencao quoted "Natural History" as saying: "Yellow flower" Blue, obtained by Zhang Qian, is also cultivated in Cang and Wei today." The citations in Zhao Yanwei's "Yunlu Manchao" are slightly the same. Cui Bao's "Annotations to Ancient and Modern Times" says at the bottom of the volume: "Yanzhi has leaves like thistles and flowers like dandelions. It came out of the West and was dyed by the natives, so it was named Yanzhi. The Chinese call it red and blue, and the dyed pink is the color of women. It is called Yan Zhifen." Safflower has been an important economic crop since ancient times. Volume 5 of "Qi Min Yao Shu" contains a method of growing red and blue flowers. According to this article, the flowers are picked and the red and yellow pigments are extracted for making rouge. He also collected his sons and pressed the oil to make car grease or candles.

According to Bencao Tujing, the use of safflower as medicine began with Zhang Zhong-jing: "Zhongjing treats sixty-two kinds of wind, as well as stabbing pain in the blood and gas in the abdomen. Use safflower, one or two, divided into four parts. , use one liter of wine, decoct half of it, administer it at draft, and then take it more than once." The formal entry into materia medica was relatively late. According to "Zheng Lei", the "Tang Benzhu" is quoted as saying: "(红蓝) Flowers) treat muteness, blood knots, postpartum diseases, and can be dyed red." But what is strange is that Xinxiu Bencao does not record red and blue flowers, so how can we talk about "Tang Dynasty" What about "this note"? According to Mr. Shang Zhijun's textual research, the "Tang Bencao" in "Zhenglei" like this article is probably referring to Shu Bencao written by Han Bao-sheng of Meng Shu in the Five Dynasties. If what is said is correct, then The earliest record of red and blue flowers is Shu Bencao, not Kaibao Bencao as mentioned in general literature.

"Illustrations" describes the plant form of safflower in detail: "It is found everywhere today. Planted in the field garden, the seeds are spread on the mature ground in winter, and seedlings will grow in spring, and there will be flowers in summer. Under the flowers, there will be thorns, which are many thorns. Medium firm, with white seeds as big as adzuki beans. The flowers are dried to dye true red and make rouge." The medicine picture in "Zheng Class" does not indicate the place of origin. (Picture 1) The stem is upright, the upper part is branched, and the leaves are ovate-lanceolate. Or oblong, with terminal inflorescences. This is the safflower Carthamus tinctorius of the Asteraceae family.

Lyuchanyan Bencao in the Southern Song Dynasty has "safflower grass" on the scroll, and Jiuhuang Bencao in the Ming Dynasty is called "safflower vegetable". The description of the plant is more accurate: "materia medica is called red and blue flower. The name is Huanglan. When it came out of Liang-Han and the Western Regions, it was also planted in the Cang and Wei Dynasties, and it can be found everywhere today. The seedlings are about two feet tall, with thorns on the stems and leaves, resembling thorn thistle leaves and moist skin, slightly knotted and many thorns. The safflower blooms, and the pistils emerge from the thorns. The gardeners pluck them, and the plucks have come back, and they are gone. The thorns are firm, with white pods as big as adzuki beans. The flowers are dried to dye true red and make rouge. "These are all chrysanthemums. Branch safflower no doubt.

Gangmu The pictures and texts in the safflower article are correct, and in the saffron crocus style and stigma article, Li Yun: "Saffron crocus style and stigma left Xifan and returned to the earth and the kingdom of heaven, that is, the red land Blue flowers are also used for food in the Yuan Dynasty. According to Zhang Hua's "Natural History", Zhang Qian planted red and blue flowers in the Western Regions, so this is one kind, or the local atmosphere is slightly different." The painted saffron The illustration of crocus style and stigma is also similar to that of Asteraceae safflower. According to the medicinal saffron crocus style and stigma, it is the dried stigma of the Iris plant saffron crocus style and stigma Crocus sativus L., which is native to Spain, Greece and other countries. In ancient times, medicinal use has always relied on imports, so except for the general description in "Pinhui Essence" Its original plant: "saffron crocus style and stigma", sown in the shade in March, its roots are like garlic, hard and bearded, and a stem is six or seven inches high, with five or six leaves, like garlic leaves, thin Long, green. In May, five or six flowers bloom at the end of the stem, like red and blue flowers, which turn yellow and gradually red at first, and bear seeds in June, as big as millet." Including Bencao Gangmu Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao, was influenced by Yinshan Zhengyao, mistakenly saying that saffron crocus style and stigma "is returning to the ground safflower", and the picture also depicts the shape of a safflower in the Asteraceae family.

【Evolution of Authentic】

Whether safflower was indeed brought back from the Western Regions by Zhang Qian as stated in "Natural History" is uncertain, but there is no doubt that it is not native to China. It is mainly grown in various places. According to "Natural History", "Jin Cang, Cang and Wei were both in the north. "Qimin Yaoshu" was also written by Jia Sixie of the later Wei Dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It is known that the first planting place of safflower may be in several provinces and cities in today's Hebei, Shandong and Henan. According to "New Tang Book" "Geographical Records", the prefectures and counties with red and blue Tugong include Lingwu County of Lingzhou (now Lingwu, Ningxia), Beihai County of Qingzhou (now Qingzhou, Shandong), Hanzhong County of Xingyuan Prefecture (now Nanzheng, Shaanxi), and Tang'an County of Shuzhou (now Qingzhou, Shandong) Chongqing, Sichuan), Deyang County of Hanzhou (now Deyang, Sichuan), etc., and there is a red and blue river in Linhuai County (now Sihong, Jiangsu) in Volume 16 of "Taiping Huanyu Ji". It is said that "the people of Duo Yang-di Palace raced red and blue rivers in This is the name." However, most of the safflower produced in these producing areas is probably used as dye, and the medicinal producing areas should be based on materia medica.

As mentioned in the variety section, the materia medica that first recorded safflower was probably Shu Bencao. Sichuan was already the main production area of ​​this product during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. This is consistent with the "Kai Bao" "Born in Liang, Han and Western Regions" is consistent, both Liang and Han are in Sichuan. As for the "Kaibao" mentioned that it came from the Western Regions, it is unknown whether it is safflower Carthamus tinctorius of the Asteraceae family or saffron crocus style and stigma Crocus sativus of the Iridaceae family. Lyuchanyan Bencao is a local materia medica in Hangzhou, Jiuhuang Bencao is specifically recorded as being produced in Zhongzhou, Henan, and "Pin Hui Jing Yao" refers to those produced in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu as authentic.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, the origin of safflower changed again. "Drug Production Identification" lists Henan, Anhui, and Sichuan as the top ones, while Cao Bingzhang's "Updated Weiyao Tiaobian" Volume 2 says: "The names of those who produced safflower in Guizhou, Henan Safflower, Shangjia, the one from Bozhou is also named Sansafflower, slightly second. The one from Ningbo, Zhejiang is named Du safflower, which is also good, both red and yellow. The one from Shandong is named Dasanhua, the second best. The one from Menghe is even second. The one from Huaihe, Henan The one produced in Qing is named Huai safflower, which is slightly inferior. The one produced in Hunan is also good. The one produced in Shaanxi is named Saffron, which is inferior. The one produced in Japan is light yellow in color and thin in taste, and is named Yang safflower." "Qizhou Medicine Chronicles" by Zhao Huohuang The article about safflower says: "It originated in Egypt and spread in central and southern China, such as Henan, Hunan, Zhejiang and other provinces. It is also popularly cultivated in Yuzhou and Huaiqing in Henan, and Qizhou also practiced it in the past few years. For cultivation, just because the climate is not suitable, the harvest will not be abundant."

To sum up the above situation, it is known that the four major safflower producing areas in recent times, Sichuan, Du, Huai, and Jin, each have historical origins, and GAP research can be appropriately conducted according to their respective production areas.