AKA: Rubia tinctorum

Common Madder a member of the Rubia Family, a genus of sixty or so climbing perennials that are found in temperate climates around the globe. In loamy soil that gets good moisture, it can grow up to five feet tall, using the whorls on its evergreen leaves to climb. It also produces dense racemes of  small pale yellow flowers in the spring and  red to black berries in the fall. Certain butterflies and moths use it for a food and humans have been harvesting its long (1 meter)  and thick (12 mm)root for centuries as both a dye and remedy.

Since at least the Age of Vikings, the roots of the Madder has been used to dye material red. Evidence of its use has been found in both the graves of a Merovingian Queen and in excavated from Viking sites in York. It is mentioned in Charlemagne’s charter as one the plants an empire should use and also mentioned as a healing herb in Medieval medical texts. During the Colonial Times, the brilliant red of the British Red Coats was actually obtained by madder.

 The roots were harvested in their first year and were either dried, fermented, or treated with acid which triggered a chemical change, resulting in the pigments alizarin and purpurin. The outer brown layer of the root would yield a common dye while the inner yellow part would be used to make a more refined type. When mixed clay or treated with alum or ammonia, these pigments, especially alizarin would then result in a brilliant red color that could be used to dye leather, wool, cotton and silk. In France, the roots would either be pulverized and dissolved in sulfuric acid to make "garance" or be first used and then treated with acid to make "garanceux".

Up until the Industrial revolution, Madder was an important plant that was cultivated extensively because of its ability to produce such a rich red color. Then in 1869, two  German chemist by the name of Graebe and Lieberman figured out  how to synthesize the main pigment, alizarin, out of coal tar, making the cultivation of the root obsolete. Today, the only country that still cultivates Madder on a commercial scale is France, which uses the plant to produce a drink.

While it was mostly known for its use as an dye, Madder was also used as an ancient remedy to help treat jaundice and spleen conditions. The famed 17th Century English Herbalist, Nicolas Culpeper, believed that because of its red color, Madder was ruled by Mars and therefore had both an opening and binding quality. The root was boiled in wine and then drunk with vinegar and honey to help with the swelling of the spleen. It was also used for palsy, hemorrhoids, sciatica and bruises. The leaves and stems of the plant were also believed to encourage menstrual bleeding. The leaves and the roots would also be squashed and used as a way to treat skin discolorations. Taking Madder regularly will also cause your urine to turn red and will even dye your bones, making the herb useful in the study of bone growth.

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