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67 results
  • Serratula tinctoria subsp. seoanei (Willk.)M.Lainz Asteraceae. Saw-wort (in the USA called Dyer's plumeless saw-wort). Distribution: Europe. Named after Dr Victor Lopez Seoane (1832-1900) a Spanish naturalist and physician who was Professor of Physics, Chemistry and Natural History in Corunna. He attained a certain infamy in that three of the subspecies of birds which he published as new discoveries were in leaflets dated 1870 and 1891 but were actually published in 1894, the discovery of which rendered two of his discoveries attributable to others (Ferrer, in Ingenium 7:345-377 (2001). This plant was described by Heinrich Willkomm in 1899 as Serratula seoanei, but M. Lainz, in 1979, decided it was merely a subspecies of Serratula tinctoria, a plant described by Linnaeus (1753). Linnaeus based his description on a plant with a woodcut in Dodoens' Pemptades (1583), saying it had pinnate leaves. However, that woodcut is of two different plants, and when re-used by Gerard (1633) he pointed out that Tabernamontanus (1625) had a woodcut of them and a third plant all with leaves varying from just pinnate to entire. Whatever, the leaves on Serratula tinctorius subsp. seoanei are very distinct, but while pinnate the leaflets are exceedingly narrowly and deeply dissected, Gerard (1633) writes that it is 'wonderfully commended to be most singular [useful] for wounds, ruptures, burstings, and such like...' It is a dye plant, containing luteolin, the same yellow dye as is present in Reseda luteola (source of the dye 'weld'). Seoane also has a viper, Vipera seoanei, named after him
  • Dyeing: dyers' and fullers' mills for extracting plant dyes. Coloured engraving by J. Pass.
  • Xanthorhiza simplicissima Marshall Ranunculaceae. Yellow root. Distribution: North America, where it was discovered by the plant collector and explorer William Bartram in 1773. Austin (2004) reports that of the Native Americans, the Cherokee use the crushed plant to make a yellow dye
  • Xanthorhiza simplicissima Marshall Ranunculaceae. Yellow root. Distribution: North America, where it was discovered by the plant collector and explorer William Bartram in 1773. Yellow-root. Austin (2004) reports that of the Native Americans, the Cherokee use the crushed plant to make a yellow dye
  • Reseda lutea L. Resedaceae Wild Mignonette. Dyers Rocket. Herbaceous plant. Distribution: Eurasia and North Africa. This plant, and in particular R. luteola, is the source of 'weld' a yellow dye from luteolin a flavonoid in the sap. It is said to have been used since the first millennium BC, but curiously Dioscorides, Lyte, Gerard, Lobel, Fuchs, Coles, Quincy, Linnaeus (1782) either do not mention it or make it synonymous with Eruca, Rocket, and make no reference to it as a dye source. The name Resedo means 'I sit up' in Latin, which Stearn (1994) interprets as 'I heal' which makes its absence even more strange. It is noted as the dye source by Bentley (1861). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Dianella tasmanica Hook.f. Phormiaceae Tasman flax lily. Distribution: Australia. A pretty plant, but also a source of fine fibre. The leaves are used for making baskets and the berries as a dye source. No medicinal use found, but the fruit is an irritant
  • Myrtus communis L. Myrtaceae Myrtle Distribution: Europe. Dioscorides (Beck, 2005) recommends the fruit for treating haemoptysis (‘spitting blood’) and cystitis, and, if boiled, he said it made a fine wine. In various forms it was used as a hair dye, for sore eyes, anal and uterine prolapse, dandruff and shingles, all sorts of inflammations, scorpion bites and even sweaty armpits. Our plant has white berries, but he regarded those with black berries (they become black later in the season) as being more effective. Lyte (1576) adds that the juice of the berries kept the hair black and stopped it falling out, and prevented intoxication. He notes that it only flowered in hot summers in England, but it is reliable in flower now, either due to global warming or selection of suitable clones. According to Lyte, it is named after Merlyne, a fair maiden of Athens in ancient Greece, who judged the athletic games. Slain by a disgruntled competitor, the goddess Minerva brought her back as the myrtle tree in perpetual memory. The myrtle tree is also an ancient Jewish symbol for peace and justice. Myrtle wine is still made in Tuscany and now even in China. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Lady's bedstraw (Galium verum L.): entire flowering plant with separate enlarged flower. Coloured etching by M. Bouchard, 1772.
  • Henna plant (Lawsonia inermis): flowering stem. Coloured etching by J. Pass, c. 1813.
  • Common sawwort (Serratula tinctoria): two flowering stems and two separate leaves of different forms. Colour nature print by H. Bradbury.
  • Tree cotton (Gossypium arboreum): flowering and fruiting stem with caterpillar. Coloured etching by J. Pass, c. 1807, after M. Merian.
  • Onosma arenaria: entire flowering plant and seed. Coloured etching after J. Schütz, c.1802.
  • Alkanet (Anchusa tinctoria L.): flowering stem with separate leaf and floral segments and description of the plant and its medicinal uses. Coloured line engraving by C. H. Hemerich, c. 1759, after T. Sheldrake.
  • St. John's wort or klamath weed (Hypericum perforatum L.): flowering stem with separate root, flower and seed. Coloured etching by M. Bouchard, 177-.
  • Yellow root plant (Xanthorhiza apiifolia): flowering stem and floral segments. Coloured engraving by H. Weddell, c. 1815.
  • Dyer's rocket (Reseda luteola): entire flowering plant. Coloured etching by A. Duménil, c. 1865, after P. Naudin.
  • Indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria L.): flowering stem with separate flower and fruit segments. Coloured engraving by J.J. or J.E. Haid, c.1750, after G.D. Ehret.
  • A plant (Reseda sp.) related to Dyer's rocket: flowering plant with separate flowering stem. Watercolour, 17--.
  • Two cranesbill plants (Geranium molle and Geranium columbinum) and a storksbill plant (Erodium cicutarium). Coloured etching by C. Pierre, c. 1865, after P. Naudin.
  • A tropical plant (Memecylon edule): flowering branch. Coloured engraving by J. Pass, c. 1815.
  • An indigo plant (Indigofera stachyoides): flowering stem and floral segments. Coloured engraving by G. Barclay, c. 1843, after S. Drake.
  • Red poppy (Papaver rhoeas): entire flowering plant. Coloured etching by C. Pierre, c. 1865, after P. Naudin.
  • Saffron crocus (Crocus sativus L.): flowering stem with separate floral segments and bulb and a description of the plant and its uses. Coloured line engraving by C.H.Hemerich, c.1759, after T.Sheldrake.
  • Woad (Isatis tinctoria L.): flowering stem with separate sections of fruit and flower. Coloured etching by M. Bouchard, 177-.
  • A marigold (Tagetes species): flowers and leaf. Chromolithograph, c. 1879, after F. Hulme.
  • Dhak or palas tree (Butea monosperma): flowering branch with fruit and floral segments. Coloured etching, c. 1799, after J. Ihle.
  • Mangrove plant (Bruguiera cylindrica Blume): branch with flowers and fruit, separate flowers and fruit and sectioned fruit. Coloured line engraving.
  • Vine spinach (Basella rubra L.): entire fruiting plant. Coloured etching by M. Bouchard, 1774.
  • Ketaki (Pandanus tectorius Sol. ex Parkinson): flower and young fruit. Coloured aquatint after J. Forbes, 1769.
  • Ketaki (Pandanus tectorius Sol. ex Parkinson): mature fruit. Coloured aquatint after J. Forbes, 1769.