Micro-Season: “The Safflower Blossoms” (2023)

We have entered the micro-season of “The Safflower Blossoms.” This is the second micro-season of the mini-season of Grain Full. All the micro-seasons within Grain Full are:

• The Silk Worm Awakes and Eats the Mulberry (May 21 – May 25)
• The Safflower Blossoms (May 26 – May 30)
• The Time for Wheat (May 31 – Jun 04)

The micro-seasons were established in 1685 by Japanese astronomer Shibukawa Shunkai. While they are specific to Japan, they can be helpful to people all over the world. No matter where you live, you can use these seasons as a starting point for your own exploration of the natural world.

To celebrate this season we will learn about the safflower and read haiku by Basho, Issa, Buson, Matsunaga Teitoku, and Yagi Shokyu-ni.

---

The Safflower

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) is an annual flowering plant native to the Middle East and Asia.^(1,2) It is a drought-tolerant plant and prefers climates with predictable rainy seasons.  In order to survive in drier climates, the safflower has developed a taproot system that can descend up to six feet into the earth.⁽²⁾ The term “taproot” is used to describe the root system that has one dominant thick root that descends directly into the earth with smaller fibrous roots extending from it. (A carrot is a common example of a taproot.) 

The safflower can grow up to 6 feet tall and has leaves that are alternate, lanceolate, and have toothed margins. The flowers of the safflower are yellow, orange, or red and grow in terminal clusters.⁽³⁾  Approximately 30 days after blooming the safflower flowers are considered mature.  At this time the flower will turn brown and you can harvest the seeds.  The seeds are small, brown, and oval-shaped.  These seeds are the source of the oil that is used in cooking, cosmetics, and industrial applications.⁽³⁾

Dried safflowers are also used to produce red and yellow dyes for wool, silk, or cotton.⁽³⁾  

Safflower Morphology

When a safflower plant emerges from the ground it establishes a leaf rosette and then a central stem.  After that stem grows to be about 15 inches high, it develops its first pair of lateral branches. As the plant continues to grow, the lateral branches branch again to produce secondary and tertiary branches. 

Each branch has elongated and serrated leaves that run the length of the stems.  At the end of the stems, these leaves form bracts. From those bracts, buds are formed. 

From the buds, emerge the safflower flower.  This flower, which takes the form of a capitulum will contain between 20 and 150 individual florets.  

The bud at the end of the terminal stem (also known as the terminal bud) will flower first. Then the buds on the secondary and tertiary branches will flower.  Depending on the variety of safflower, it can produce anywhere between 3 to 50 flowers.

Morphology Terms

If you are not a botanist, the terms used to describe the parts of plants may be a little confusing.  As a result, I have included definitions of some of the key terms used in the above section.

• Bracts – a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower. (Wikipedia)
• Buds – Small lateral or terminal protuberance on the stem of a vascular plant that may develop into a flower, leaf, or shoot. (Brittanica)
• Capitulum –  a short dense spike in which the flowers are borne directly on a broad, flat peduncle, giving the inflorescence the appearance of a single flower. (Brittanica)
• Florets – one of the closely clustered small flowers that make up the flower head of a composite flower. (Dictionary.com)
• Inflorescence –  a cluster of flowers on a branch. This term is used in the definition of Capitulum. (Brittanica)
• Lateral Branch – Any branch that grows from the [stem] or along the length of any other branch. (UC Marin Master Gardner)
• Morphology– the study of the size, shape, and structure of animals, plants, and microorganisms and of the relationships of their constituent parts. (Brittanica)
• Rosette –  a circular cluster of leaves growing from the base of a stem. (Dictionary.com)
• Secondary and tertiary branches – branches that grow off of the lateral branch.
• Serrated Leaves – having a margin of forward-pointing teeth; having a notched or sawlike edge. (Dictionary.com)
• Terminal Bud – A bud that terminates the end of a stem or a twig. (New York Botanical Gardens)
• Peduncle – a stalk bearing a flower or flower cluster or a fructification. This term is used in the definition of Capitulum. (Merriam-Webster)

Seasonal Haiku

In William J. Higginson’s post, The Traditional Seasons of Japanese Poetry he states that May 06 – June 05 is considered “early summer”.  Higginson also says that during this time we are in the lunar month of Deutzia. Deutzia is a genus of flowering plants in the family of Hydrangeaceae.  

In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words as selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, early summer flower kigo include “deutzia flower”, “paulownia flower”, “multiflora [rose] blossom”, “lily”, and “peony”.

According to the World Kigo Database, the safflower (benibana) is actually a mid-summer kigo.  This means that it is a little early to use “safflower” as a kigo.

With all these early summer flowers in mind, let’s read some haiku.

---

Basho

clusters of deutzia
at this house without Mother
how disheartening! 
(translated by Takafumi Saito & William R. Nelson)

peony – 
the bee can't bear 
to part. 
(translated by Lucien Stryk) 

going beyond even
the art of wind and moon: 
peony blossoms.
(translated by David Landis Barnhill)

Issa

“the peony was as big as 
This,” Says the little girl
Opening her arms
(translated by R.H. Blyth)

the peony has bloomed!
the whole day
sparrows chirping
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

the god of fortune
and luck dwells here...
a peony!
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Matsunaga Teitoku (1571 -1653)

it lets one see
snow, moon, and blossoms –all at once,
oh, utsugi!
(translated by H.G. Henderson)

A note about this haiku from the translator: “Here, in May moonlight, the tiny white flowers of the shrub utsugi (Deutzia scabra) gleam like snow.”⁽⁴⁾ 

Yagi Shokyu-ni (1712-1781)

The “forget-me” has bloomed, but ah!
I can not forget old days together
(translated by Asataro Miyamori)

A note about this haiku from the translator: “Written on the 13th anniversary of her husband’s death.  Wasuregusa (literally, “forget-me-grass”) is a tiny, ephemeral day-lily.”⁽⁴⁾

Buson

the peony bud, 
when opening, 
shoots forth a rainbow 
(translated by Nippon Gakujusu Shinkokai)

after they’ve fallen,
their image remains in the mind –
those peonies
(translated by Steven D. Carter)

Haiku Invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu that incorporates the technique of Zooming as described in The Way of Haiku.  

“With this technique, you can either start with a background and then gradually focus (zoom-in) on a particular element in the environment, or start with a particular element and gradually widen focus (zoom-out) onto the background.”

I feel like the blooming of flowers naturally lends itself to the technique of zooming.  The flower and its parts can be either the starting point or the ending point for this technique. 

In writing your haiku for this season, try to incorporate a flower that is blooming for you right now.

Share your haiku in the comments below, or post on your own page and link back to this post. I can’t wait to read what you write!  

---

Resources:

1. “Safflower”: Britannica.com
2. “Safflower: Wikipedia.com
3. “Dyeing with Safflower”: Wild Colours
4. The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology, edited by Faubion Bowers
5. “Five Techniques for Writing Haiku” The Way of Haiku

Basho’s haiku was retrieved from Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanese with English translations. Issa’s haiku was retrieved from David G. Lanoue’s HaikuGuy.com and The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology, edited by Faubion Bowers. Buson, Shokyu-ni, and Teitoku’s haiku were retrieved from The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology, edited by Faubion Bowers.