HERB - Dandelion red

[Wendy Freeman/Otte]

<I've heard "a rumour" that dandelion roots can be made to yield a 
pink dye, but no one i've asked yet seems to know how to do this. >

Yes - this is an old rumor/myth.

Years ago (hundreds?) some then-famous dyer got a "red" from dandelion roots
and recorded the fact.  Since then, many dyeing books list this as a
possibility, even though most of them admit they cannot recreate it.

My thought is that this was an "accidental" color.  I once got a green from
onionskins.  All of the conditions were correct for yellow, I planned for
yellow, I NEEDED yellow (it was for a competition entry), and I got green!  It
happens to the best dyers.

Here are some possible explanations as to how a red might have been
accidentally obtained from a dandelion root:

1. Soil left on the roots - a good red-dirt soil will sometimes produce a red
(as a child, I remember the knee-stains and my mother's outbursts).

2. Environmental - the reason the Scottish clan plaids were created was that
the soils and the plants differed so greatly from valley to valley.   Often,
the same dyeplant would produce a much different color because of the
soil/environment it was grown in.  Maybe this famous dandelion grew in a
unique environment that gave its roots a reddish dye.

3. Plant variety - Was this famous dandelion some special mutation, growing in
a small area and later overrun by a more robust variety?

4. Dirty pot - did the dyer use a pot madder, kermes/cochineal, or a orchil
lichen had been previously dyed in?  It happens <grin>.

If you ever find a dandelion root that produces a "red", please note the
conditions so this ancient mystery can be cleared up once an for all!


Lady Wyllow MacMuireadhaigh


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