Alkanna tinctoria
| Alkanna tinctoria | |
|---|---|
| File:Alkanna tinctoria2.jpg | |
| Dyer's alkanet | |
| Scientific classification edit | |
| Missing taxonomy template (fix): | Alkanna |
| Species: | Template:Taxonomy/AlkannaA. tinctoria
|
| Binomial name | |
| Template:Taxonomy/AlkannaAlkanna tinctoria (L.) Tausch
| |
Alkanna tinctoria, the dyer's alkanet[1] or simply alkanet, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the borage family Boraginaceae. Its roots are used to produce a red dye. The plant is also known as dyers' bugloss, orchanet, Spanish bugloss, or Languedoc bugloss. It is native to the Mediterranean region.
Description
[edit | edit source]Alkanna tinctoria has a bright blue flower.[citation needed]
The root is blackish outside, blue-red inside, with a whitish core.[2] It is native to the Mediterranean region.[citation needed]
A. tinctoria has 30 chromosomes and is regarded as a dysploid at the tetraploid level (4x + 2).[3]
Taxonomy
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Dyestuff
[edit | edit source]The root produces a fine red colouring material, which has been used as a dye in the Mediterranean region since antiquity. The dyestuff in its roots is insoluble in water but can be extracted using alcohol or other organic solvents such as oils.[2] It is used to colour some cheeses and low-quality wines.[2]
Powdered and mixed with oil, the alkanet root is used as a wood stain. When mixed into an oily environment, it imparts a crimson color to the oil, which when applied to wood moves the wood's color towards dark-red-brown (resembling that of rosewood), and accentuates the grain of the wood.[4] In alkaline environments, alkanet dye is blue; in the presence of acids it gradually changes to crimson.[5]
The colouring agent in A. tinctoria root has been chemically isolated and named alkannin. In Australia, alkannin is approved for use as a food colouring; in the European Union, it is called E103 but its approval for use has been withdrawn.[6] It has been used as colorant for products such as lipstick.[7]
In English in the late medieval era, the name alkanet meant A. tinctoria. In the centuries since then, the name has come to be used informally for some other plants related to it.[8]
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Template:BSBI 2007
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ward, Artemas (1911). "Alkanet". The Grocer's Encyclopedia. p. 20. (enter search term "Alkanet")
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Suggestions' not found.
- ↑ "Alkanets" in A Modern Herbal, by Mrs. M. Grieve, 1931.
- ↑ "Alkanet" in Dispensatory of the United States of America, 1918, edited by Joseph P. Remington and Horatio C. Wood.
- ↑ "E103 - Alkannin". Open Food Facts. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
- ↑ The Complete Servant, by Samuel and Sarah Adams, year 1826.
- ↑ Alkanet in the Middle English Dictionary
External links
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