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This on-line article is a natural progression from two others on-site: Trees, Glorious Trees [to be found on the Fun section] and What's In a Wild Plant? [in this section].
In urbanised, industrialised society - where our food may well be pre-processed or preserved, our medicines appear in shrunk-wrapped sachets, and clothes can be bought through mail order - most have us have lost touch with the usage of plants. In the old days the cottager would be able to nip down to the end of the garden or raid the hedgerows for the plants that would relieve sickness or provide other useful properties. Plants provided a ready source of colouring agents for clothes and paper, and today there is new interest in the use of natural dyes as the public become more environmentally aware, and concerned about pollution. The 'colour-plant' list below has been trawled from various books on plants and we've arranged it so that you can check what well-known plants provide a colour, or find what colour can be derived from a known plant. Please note that under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act it is illegal to uproot any wild plant without the permission of the owner or occupier of the land. It is also illegal to pick, uproot, collect the seed from or sell any of 107 particularly rare or vulnerable species.
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| REDS / PINKS | Agrimony | Yellow | ||
| Alder | Alder | Black/Brown/Red | ||
| Alkanet | Alkanet | Red | ||
| Blackthorn | Ash | Yellow | ||
| Dandelion | Root | Bilberry | Blue/Brown/Purple | |
| Field Madder | Root | Birch | Brown Yellow | |
| Ladies Bedstraw | Root | Blackberry | Black | |
| Marjoram | Blackthorn | Blue/Brown/Red | ||
| Meadowsweet | Root | Bog Asphodel | Yellow | |
| Raspberries | Bog Myrtle | Yellow | ||
| Sorrel | Root | Bogbean | Brown | |
| Tormentil | Root | Bracken | Green/Yellow/Brown | |
| Wild madder | Root | Bramble | Yellow/Brown | |
| Broom | Yellow | |||
| BROWN | Buckthorn | Yellow | ||
| Alder | Burdock | Yellow | ||
| Bilberry | Buttercup | Purple | ||
| Birch | Coltsfoot | Green | ||
| Blackthorn | Common Dock | Yellow | ||
| Bogbean | Cornflower | Blue | ||
| Bracken Fern | Root | Crab Apple | Yellow | |
| Briar/Bramble | Root | Crowberry | Purple | |
| Dandelion | Root | Dandelion | Brown/Red/Purple | |
| Hops | Deadly Nightshade | Purple | ||
| Juniper | Devil's Bit | Blue | ||
| Larch | Needles | Dock | Black | |
| Lichens | Dock Sorrel | Green | ||
| Oak | Bark | Dog's Mercury | Blue | |
| Onion | Skins | Dogwood | Yellow | |
| Speedwell | Dyer's Broom | Yellow | ||
| Walnut | Husks | Elder | Blue/Black/Green/Purple | |
| White Waterlily | Root | Flowering Rush | Green | |
| Foxglove | Green | |||
| YELLOW | Fumitory | Green | ||
| Agrimony | Gipsywort | Black | ||
| Ash | Inner bark/leaves | Goldenrod | Yellow | |
| Birch | Gorse | Yellow | ||
| Bog Asphodel | Heath | Green | ||
| Bog Myrtle | Heather | Yellow | ||
| Bracken | Root/tops | Hops | Brown | |
| Bramble | Horsetail | Green | ||
| Broom | Juniper | Brown | ||
| Buckthorn | Berries/bark | Kidney Vetch | Yellow | |
| Burdock | Ladies Bedstraw | Red/Yellow | ||
| Common Dock | Root | Lady's Mantle | Green | |
| Crab Apple | Inner bark | Larch | Brown | |
| Dogwood | Lichens | Brown/Green | ||
| Dyer's Broom | Tops | Lily of the Valley | Green | |
| Goldenrod | Marestail | Yellow | ||
| Gorse | Bark/flowers/shoots | Marigold | Yellow | |
| Heather | Marjoram | Red | ||
| Kidney Vetch | Marsh Marigold | Yellow | ||
| Ladies Bedstraw | Tops/stems | Marsh Ragwort | Yellow | |
| Marestail | Marsh-Woundwort | Yellow | ||
| Marigold | Meadow Rue | Yellow | ||
| Marsh Marigold | Meadowsweet | Black/Red/Yellow | ||
| Marsh Ragwort | Motherwort | Green | ||
| Marsh-Woundwort | Nettle | Yellow | ||
| Meadow Rue | Nettles | Green | ||
| Meadowsweet | Oak | Black/Brown | ||
| Nettle | Onion | Brown/Yellow | ||
| Onion | Skins | Pennywort | Yellow | |
| Pennywort | Plantain | Green | ||
| Poplar | Bark/wood/leaves | Poplar | Yellow | |
| Privet | Leaves | Privet | Blue/Green/Yellow | |
| Sorrel | Purple Loosestrife | Purple | ||
| St. John's Wort | Flowers | Raspberries | Red | |
| Sundew | Sorrel | Red/Yellow | ||
| Teasel | Speedwell | Brown | ||
| Tormentil | Root | Spindle | Purple | |
| Weld | St. John's Wort | Purple/Yellow | ||
| Willow | Leaves | Sundew | Purple/Yellow | |
| Yellow Fumitory | Teasel | Yellow | ||
| Yellow Wort | Tormentil | Red/Yellow | ||
| Walnut | Black/Brown | |||
| GREEN | Waterlily | Black | ||
| Bracken | Buds | Weld | Yellow | |
| Coltsfoot | White Waterlily | Brown | ||
| Dock Sorrel | Wild Madder | Pink | ||
| Elder | Wild Pansy | Blue | ||
| Flowering Rush | Willow | Yellow | ||
| Foxglove | Woad | Blue | ||
| Fumitory | Yellow Bedstraw | Purple | ||
| Heath | Yellow Flag | Green | ||
| Horsetail | Yellow Fumitory | Yellow | ||
| Lady's Mantle | Yellow Iris | Blue/Black | ||
| Lichens | Yellow Wort | Yellow | ||
| Lily of the Valley | Leaves | |||
| Motherwort | ||||
| Nettles | Root/stalk/leaves | |||
| Plantain | Leaves/Root | |||
| Privet | Berries/leaves | |||
| Yellow Flag | ||||
| PURPLE | ||||
| Bilberry | ||||
| Elder | Berries | |||
| Purple Loosestrife | ||||
| Crowberry | ||||
| Dandelion | Root | |||
| Deadly Nightshade | ||||
| Spindle | ||||
| St. John's Wort | Flowers | |||
| Sundew | ||||
| Buttercup | ||||
| Yellow Bedstraw | ||||
| BLUE | ||||
| Bilberry | ||||
| Blackthorn | ||||
| Cornflower | ||||
| Devil's Bit | ||||
| Dog's Mercury | ||||
| Elder | Berries | |||
| Privet | Berries/leaves | |||
| Wild Pansy | Leaves/stem | |||
| Woad | Leaves | |||
| Yellow Iris | Root | |||
| BLACK | ||||
| Alder | Bark | |||
| Blackberry | Shoots | |||
| Dock | Root | |||
| Elder | Bark | |||
| Gipsywort | ||||
| Meadowsweet | Whole plant | |||
| Oak | Bark and acorns | |||
| Walnut | Husks | |||
| Waterlily | Root | |||
| Yellow Iris | Root | |||
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