Madder - One of the Oldest Dye Stuff Known
Madder is one of the oldest dye stuff known. One could spend a lifetime exploring madder as a dye plant. Alizarin is the organic dye component found in the madder root that creates the crimson red colour that we usually associate with the term madder. Its sad but true that in the 1860's researchers discovered how to manufacture Alizarin synthetically and the use of madder as a dye stuff has become mostly limited to artisans and small cottage industries.