Rubia tinctorum

This plant is called madder.

It has small yellow flowers. The plant can climb up things. It uses tiny hooks on its leaves to do this.

Madder has very long roots. These roots make a bright red color. People use the roots to dye cloth. They can dye wool and silk too.

Some people use the roots for eggs. They boil the roots to make eggs red.

It is a very old plant. People have used it for a long time. It is a helpful plant for making color.

The madder plant is a leafy plant that can grow tall. It can reach 1.5 meters in height. The plant has small yellow flowers. It uses tiny hooks on its leaves to climb.

Madder has very long roots. These roots are used to make red dye. People harvest the roots after two years. The outer red layer makes a common dye. The inner yellow layer makes a refined dye. To make the color stay on cloth, people use a mordant. A mordant is a substance like alum that helps fix the dye.

Madder has been used for a very long time. People in India used it to dye cotton. In the past, British soldiers wore red coats dyed with madder. Some people even boil the roots to paint Easter eggs red.

The roots contain a part called alizarin. This is what gives the dye its red color. In 1869, scientists made alizarin in a lab. This was called a synthetic version. Because of this, people stopped growing as much madder.

The madder plant is a special living thing. Scientists call it Rubia tinctorum. It belongs to the Rubiaceae family. This family has about 80 different flowering plants. Madder is a perennial, which means it lives for many years. It can grow up to 1.5 meters tall. The plant has green leaves that stay on all year. These leaves grow in star shapes around the stem. Tiny hooks on the leaves help the plant climb.

Making red dye from this plant is a careful process. People must wait two years to harvest the roots. The roots can grow over a metre long. They can also be 12 mm thick. The outer red layer makes a common dye. The inner yellow layer makes a refined dye. To make the color stay on cloth, people use a mordant. A mordant is a substance like alum that fixes the dye.

People have used madder for a very long time. Archaeologists found dyed cotton in Mohenjo-daro in India. This site is from the 3rd millennium BCE. In the past, British Redcoats wore coats dyed with madder. Some people even boil the roots to paint Easter eggs red.

Science helped us understand how the color works. The roots contain a part called alizarin. This is the chemical that gives the dye its red color. A French chemist named Pierre Jean Robiquet isolated it in 1826. In 1855, a German professor named Leonhardi used it for ink. Later, chemists Graebe and Liebermann made a lab version in 1869. This was called synthetic alizarin.

Madder is linked to many parts of our world. It provides food for larvae, such as the hummingbird hawk moth. In France, people even used the plant remains to make a spirit. The dye was used for leather, wool, cotton, and silk. It was also used to make a bright color called madder lake. This color was made by mixing the dye with clay and alum.

Rubia tinctorum is a herbaceous perennial plant. It belongs to the Rubiaceae family, which includes about 80 flowering plants. This species is commonly known as rose madder, common madder, or dyer's madder. It is a climbing plant that grows up to 1.5 meters tall. The plant uses tiny hooks on its leaves and stems to climb. Its evergreen leaves grow in star-like whorls of four to seven around the stem. These leaves are about 5 to 10 cm long. Small yellow flowers appear between June and August. These flowers grow in dense clusters called racemes.

The most important part of the madder plant is its root system. The roots can grow over one meter long and reach 12 mm in thickness. These roots are the source of famous red dyes like rose madder and Turkey red. To produce dye, the roots must be harvested after two years of growth. The root has two distinct layers. The outer red layer produces a common type of dye. The inner yellow layer is used to create a more refined variety. Madder grows best in loamy soils, such as sand and clay. It also thrives in creek beds where moisture is constant.

Creating a lasting color on fabric requires a specific chemical process. Dyers use a substance called a mordant to fix the dye to the cloth. Alum is the most common mordant used for this purpose. There are several ways to extract the color from the roots. Some methods involve fermentation, which is known as Fleurs de garance in France. Other methods use sulfuric acid to dissolve the pulverized roots. This can produce a dye called garance or a second dye called garanceux. Another method involves treating the roots with alcohol to produce colorine. This colorine contains 40 to 50 times more alizarin than the raw roots.

Chemistry explains why the madder root is so colorful. The roots contain several polyphenolic compounds. These include purpuroxanthin, quinizarin, and purpurin. The most important compound for red dye is alizarin. Alizarin is an anthraquinone that provides the signature red color. In 1826, a French chemist named Pierre Jean Robiquet isolated alizarin and purpurin. Purpurin is usually colorless, but it turns red in alkaline solutions. By mixing purpurin with clay, alum, and ammonia, people can create a brilliant red called madder lake. In 1855, a German professor named Leonhardi used alizarin to create alizarine ink.

Humans have used madder for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence shows madder-dyed cotton in Mohenjo-daro, India, from the 3rd millennium BCE. In ancient times, the plant was known as Manjishtha in Sanskrit. Roman writers like Pliny the Elder mentioned the plant, which they called rubia passiva. During the Viking Age, madder remains were found in the levels of York. In Europe, some of the oldest dyed textiles come from the grave of Queen Arnegundis. This grave is located in Saint-Denis, France, and dates to between 565 and 570 AD. Even Charlemagne mentioned the plant in his writings.

Madder was also used for famous clothing and complex dyeing recipes. The British Redcoats wore coats dyed with madder. One very famous method was creating Turkey red. This was a strong, fast red dye for cotton. The process was very complicated and used many ingredients. These included sumac, oak galls, calf's blood, sheep's dung, oil, soda, alum, and tin. This method was developed in India and spread to Turkey. By the 1820s, roller-printed cottons using Turkey red were very fashionable in England.

Scientific progress eventually changed how madder was used. In 1869, German chemists Graebe and Liebermann synthesized artificial alizarin. This meant alizarin could be produced industrially starting in 1871. This discovery effectively ended the large-scale cultivation of the madder plant. By the 20th century, madder was only grown in certain areas of France. Despite this, the plant remains important in nature. It serves as a food plant for the larvae of certain Lepidoptera species. One example is the hummingbird hawk moth.