Common Plants And Trees For Colour

Here are some common plants and trees that are effective for colour. Let me know on the Slack forum if there are other plants you have success with.

Wild Plants

St John’s Wort - Flowers

• Purple dye with an acid and tannin mordant. Red or pink ink with soda ash extraction

Nettles - Leaves

• Pale green dye on wool in early spring. karkhi ink with soda ash extraction

Yellow Dock - root

• Golden dye with rhubarb leaf mordant.

Bramble - all parts

• Pale beige dye that is highly reactive with iron for black and grey. This makes it useful for leaf printing and using in combination with iron print paste.

Oxalis - flowers

• Yellow ink

Herb Robert - Leaves

• High in tannin. Pale beige dye that is highly reactive with iron for black and grey. This makes it useful for leaf printing and using in combination with iron print paste.

Gorse - Flowers

• Yellow dye on wool

Medicinal herbs

Rosemary - leaves and branches

• Dye or evaporated ink

Sage - leaves and branches

• Beige dye or evaporated ink

Bay - leaves and branches

• Beige dye or evaporated ink

Lavender - leaves, flowers, and branches

• Pale purple dye

Ecchinacea - leaves, stems, and flowers

• Green dye with symplocos mordant.

Garden Plants

Rose - leaves and flowers

• Green dye with alum mordant. Green lake pigment. Add acid for pink.

Buddleia - Flowers

• Yellow dye with alum mordant. Yellow lake pigment.

Rhubarb - Root for dye or ink, Leaves as a mordant

Dahlia - Flowers, leaves, and stems

• A variety of colours from pink to orange and green.

Trees

These are all high in tannins so you will get greys and blacks with iron oxide.

Apple - bark

• Yellow/orange/pink dye depending in the variety with alum mordant. Yellow evaporated ink. Greys and blacks with iron oxide.

Cherry - bark

• Pink dye depending in the variety with alum mordant. Evaporated ink. Greys and blacks with iron oxide.

Plum - bark

• Orange/pink dye depending in the variety with alum mordant. Evaporated ink. Greys and blacks with iron oxide.

Pear - bark

• Orange/pink dye depending in the variety with alum mordant. Evaporated ink. Greys and blacks with iron oxide.

Birch - bark, leaves, and young branches

• Pink dye with alum mordant. Evaporated ink. Greys and blacks with iron oxide.

Alder - cones, roots, and bark.

• Pink dye with alum mordant. Evaporated ink. Greys and blacks with iron oxide.

Oak - galls, acorns, bark, leaves

• Beige dye. Brown evaporated ink. Greys and blacks with iron oxide.

Walnut - husks

• Brown dye. Brown evaporated ink. Greys and blacks with iron oxide.