Botanical Dye Plants

General Principles

• Most plants yield yellow: The majority of botanical dyes produce yellow as their base tone. Getting red, blue, or purple requires specific plants (cochineal, indigo, gromwell, logwood) or pH modification.
• Barks: boil extensively. Tannin-rich barks require long simmering (1–2 hours) to release colour.
• Petals: do not boil. Heat destroys delicate pigments in petals. Use maceration (cold soak overnight, or warm water below 60°C).
• Yellow colours fade fastest. Most botanical yellow dyes have low lightfastness. Weld is a notable exception — one of the most lightfast yellow dyes available.
• Dried botanicals: Most plant dyes work with dried material. Some (perikon) are better fresh.

Plant Directory

Senpasuchil — Marigold (Tagetes erecta / Tagetes lucida)

Colour: Yellow to gold, warm orange-yellow with iron mordant
Source: Petals only — both fresh and dried work. Dried marigold heads are widely available.
Process: Do not boil. Soak or simmer gently below 80°C. Long simmering at lower temperature extracts more colour.
Mordant: Alum for yellow-gold; iron for olive-green
Lightfastness: Moderate
Notes: One of the most widely used dye plants in Oaxacan textile tradition. Tagetes lucida (pericon, Mexican tarragon) is the wild variant — use the whole fresh plant including stems.

Perikon (Tagetes lucida)

Colour: Yellow-green to gold
Source: Whole fresh plant including stems
Process: Use fresh. Simmer gently.
Notes: Distinction from Senpasuchil: Perikon is used fresh and includes stems; Senpasuchil uses petals only, dried is acceptable.

Palo de Brasil — Brazilian Wood / Sappan Wood (Haematoxylum brasiletto / Caesalpinia sappan)

Colour: Red-pink to violet depending on mordant and pH
Source: Heartwood chips or powder
Recipe: 382g of wood per 2.5 litres of water. Soak overnight, then simmer 45–60 min. Strain.
Mordant: Alum for red-pink; iron for violet-grey; alkaline shift for deeper red
Notes: Also known as Sappan wood (소목 in Korean). Used in both Latin American and Korean dyeing traditions.

Walnut (Juglans regia / Juglans nigra)

Colour: Brown — from light tan to deep chocolate
Source: Walnut husks (green outer shells), not the hard shell. Also roots.
Recipe: 200g walnut material per 2L water. Simmer 20 min. Strain well.
Mordant: 20g alum in hot filtered bath after dyeing. Or: 8g alum per litre of dye bath.
Notes: Walnut contains juglone, which is both a natural mordant and a dye. Can be used without a separate mordant on protein fibres. Very high lightfastness.

Weld (Reseda luteola)

Colour: Yellow — clear, clean, and one of the most lightfast natural yellows
Source: Whole plant, dried
Process: Simmer gently. Do not boil aggressively.
Mordant: Alum for bright yellow; iron for olive-gold
Notes: The best yellow for work intended to last. Has been used in European dyeing since antiquity.

Palo Campeche — Logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum)

Colour: Deep purple to near-black depending on mordant
Source: Heartwood
Process: Chips or powder simmered in water
Mordant: Iron for black; chrome for purple; alum for violet-blue
Notes: Extremely powerful dye. Used on corn leaves in some Oaxacan traditions.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum)

Colour: Yellow to gold-brown, high tannin content
Source: Dried rind / seeds
Process: Boil dried rind or seeds 30–45 min. High tannin — can serve as both dye and mordant.
Notes: Often used as a pre-treatment for cellulose fibres to improve dye uptake, especially useful before cochineal on cotton.

Gromwell / Shikonin (Lithospermum erythrorhizon — 자초)

Colour: Purple-violet to deep red, depending on mordant and solvent (oil-based vs alcohol-based extraction)
Source: Root (자초뿌리)
Extraction: Soluble in alcohol and oil (들기름/perilla oil), not water. Traditional Korean: extract in sesame oil or perilla oil + sodium hydroxide.
Notes: Contains shikonin — a powerful anthraquinone pigment. Used in Korean traditional painting and textile dyeing. Listed separately as Gromwell.

Jay's Studio Note

In Oaxaca, the dye plant knowledge is inseparable from the seasonal calendar. Senpasuchil floods the markets in November for Día de los Muertos — the marigold dye vats run at the same time. Palo de Brasil was introduced through Spanish trade routes; it appears in both Mexican and Korean dye traditions under different names (팔로 데 브라질 / 소목). The same tree, the same dye molecule, different histories.