On the introduction of foreign dye woods and other dyes during the 17th and 18th centuries, the native dye plants were rapidly displaced, except in some out of the way places such as the Highlands and parts of Ireland. Some of these British dye plants had been used from early historical times for dyeing. Some few are still in use in commercial dye work (pear, sloe, and a few others); but their disuse was practically completed during the 19th century, when the chemical dyes ousted them from the market.

The majority of these plants are not very important as dyes, and could not probably now be collected in sufficient quantities. Some few, however, are important, such as woad, weld, heather, walnut, alder, oak, some lichens; and many of the less important ones would produce valuable colours if experiments were made with the right mordants. Those which have been in use in the Highlands are most of them good dyes. Among these are Ladies Bedstraw, whortleberry, yellow iris, bracken, bramble, meadow sweet, alder, heather and many others. The yellow dyes are most plentiful and many of these are good fast colours. Practically no good red, in quantity, is obtainable. Madder is the only reliable red dye among plants, and that is no longer indigenous in England. Most of the dye plants require a preparation of the material to be dyed, with alum, or some other mordant, but a few, such as Barbary and some of the lichens, are substantive dyes, and require no mordant.

PLANTS WHICH DYE RED

Birch. Betula alba. Fresh inner bark.

Bed-straw. Gallium boréale. Roots.

Common Sorrel. Rumex acetosa. Roots.

Dyer’s Woodruff. Asperula tinctoria. Roots.

Evergreen Alkanet. Anchusa sempervirens.

Gromwell. Lithospermum arvense.

Lady’s Bedstraw. Gallium verum. Roots.

Marsh Potentil. Potentilla Comarum. Roots.

Potentil. Potentilla Tormentilla. Roots.

Wild Madder. Rubia peregrina.

PLANTS WHICH DYE BLUE

Devil’s Bit. Scabiosa succisa. Leaves prepared like woad.

Dog’s Mercury. Mercurialis perennis.

Elder. Sambucus nigra. Berries.

Privet. Ligustrum vulgare. Berries with alum and salt.

Red bearberry. Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi.

Sloe. Prunus communis. Fruit.

Whortleberry or Blaeberry. Vaccinium Myrtillus. Berries.

Woad. Isatis tinctoria.

Yellow Iris. Iris Pseudacorus. Roots.

PLANTS WHICH DYE YELLOW

Agrimony. Agrimonia Eupatoria.

Ash. Fraxinus excelsior. Fresh inner bark.

Barberry. Berberis vulgaris. Stem and root.

Birch. Leaves.

Bog Asphodel. Narthecium ossifragum.

Bog Myrtle or Sweet Gale. Myrica Gale.

Bracken. Pteris aquilina. Roots. Also young tops.

Bramble. Rubus fructicosus.

Broom. Sarothammus Scoparius.

Buckthorn. Rhamnus frangula and R. cathartica. Berries
and Bark.

Common dock. Rumex obtusifolius. Root.

Crab Apple. Pyrus Malus. Fresh inner bark.

Dyer’s Greenwood. Genista tinctoria. Young shoots and
leaves.

Gorse. Ulex Europaeus. Bark, flowers and young shoots.

Heath. Erica vulgaris. With Alum.

Hedge stachys. Stachys palustris.

Hop. Humulus lupulus.

Hornbeam. Carpinus Betulus. Bark.

Kidney Vetch. Anthyllis Vulnararia.

Ling. Caluna vulgaris.

Marsh Marigold. Caltha palustris.

Marsh potentil. Potentilla Comarum.

Meadow Rue. Thalictrum flavum.

Nettle. Urtica. With Alum.

Pear. Leaves.

Plum. "

Polygonum Hydropiper.

Polygonum Persecaria.

Poplar. Leaves.

Privet. Ligustrum vulgare. Leaves.

S. John’s Wort. Hypericum perforatum.

Sawwort. Serratula tinctoria.

Spindle tree. Euonymus Europaeus.

Stinking Willy, or Ragweed. Senecio Jacobaea.

Sundew. Drosera.

Teasel. Dipsacus Sylvestris.

Way-faring tree. Viburnum lantana. Leaves.

Weld. Reseda luteola.

Willow. Leaves.

Yellow Camomile. Anthémis tinctoria.

Yellow Centaury. Chlora perfoliata.

Yellow Corydal. Corydalis lutea.

PLANTS WHICH DYE GREEN

Elder. Sambucus nigra. Leaves with alum.

Flowering reed. Phragmites communis. Flowering tops, with
copperas.

Larch. Bark, with alum.

Lily of the valley. Convalaria majalis. Leaves.

Nettle. Urtica dioica and U. Urens.

Privet. Ligustrum vulgare. Berries and leaves, with alum.

PLANTS WHICH DYE BROWN

Alder. Alnus glutinosa. Bark.

Birch. Betula alba. Bark.

Hop. Humulus lupulus. Stalks give a brownish red colour.

Onion. Skins.

Larch. Pine needles, collected in Autumn.

Oak. Quercus Robur. Bark.

Red currants, with alum.

Walnut. Root and green husks of nut.

Water Lily. Nymphaea alba. Root.

Whortleberry. Vaccinium Myrtillus. Young shoots, with nut
galls.

Dulse. (Seaweed.)

Lichens.

PLANTS WHICH DYE PURPLE

Byrony. Byronia dioica. Berries.

Damson. Fruit, with alum.

Dandelion. Taraxacum Dens-leonis. Roots.

Danewort. Sambucus Ebulus. Berries.

Deadly nightshade. Atropa Belladonna.

Elder. Sambucus nigra. Berries, with alum, a violet; with
alum and salt, a lilac colour.

Sundew. Drosera.

Whortleberry or blaeberry. Vaccinium myrtillus. It
contains a blue or purple dye which will dye wool and silk
without mordant.

PLANTS WHICH DYE BLACK

Alder. Alnus glutinosa. Bark, with copperas.

Blackberry. Rubus fruticosus. Young shoots, with salts of
iron.

Dock. Rumex. Root.

Elder. Bark, with copperas.

Iris. Iris Pseudacorus. Root.

Meadowsweet. Spirea Ulmaria.

Oak. Bark and acorns.