Alkanna tinctoria, the dyer's alkanet or alkanet, is a herb in the borage family. Its main notability is its roots are used as a red dye. The plant is also known as dyers' bugloss, orchanet, Spanish bugloss, or Languedoc bugloss. It is native to the Mediterranean region.

 

A. tinctoria has a bright blue flower. The plant has a dark red root of blackish appearance externally, but blue-red inside, with a whitish core. The root produces a fine red colouring material, which has been used as a dye in the Mediterranean region since antiquity. The root as a dyestuff is soluble in alcohol, ether, and the oils, but is insoluble in water. It is used to give colour to wines and alcoholic tinctures, to vegetable oils, and to varnishes. The colouring agent in A. tinctoria root has been chemically isolated and named alkannin.

 

We employ the fresh alkanet form the local market to produce beautiful light to dark beige shades on cotton, wool, silk and all natural textile substrates by standardized dyeing process using different combination of natural mordants on fibers, fabric and garments with excellent fastness properties.