Alkanet Root

Alkanet Root
Latin name:Alkanna tinctoria
Origin: Pakistan
Packaging:20kg bags

Al Nama Herbals is a direct supplier and exporter of Alkanet Root from Dubai, UAE.
We tend to maintain the qualities of the herbs we provide refraining from old and dried qualities.

Alkanet Root is a perennial herb, Alkanet can reach a height of 12 inches. The Alkanet Root has tough leaves, a substantial tap root, and small, bright blue blooms that bloom in the early summer, much like borage. Due to the root’s use as a dye, the word Anchusa is derived from the Greek anchousa, which means paint. The species are hispid or pubescent herbs with bracteated racemes that coil up before the flowers open and oblong, whole leaves. The calyx enlarges in fruit; the corolla is relatively tiny, funnel- to salver-shaped, mostly purplish-blue, but occasionally yellow or pale. In many species, the root, which is frequently rather enormous compared to the size of the plant, produces a red dye from the rind.

Scholars believe that thousands of years of prior practise were necessary to elevate the technique to the level of a science and art due to the immense detail in which the preparation of the fibres, the dyeing materials, and the dyeing process itself are recorded. It talks about mordanting the fibres with alum, copper, iron oxides, and occasionally tin and zinc to darken or “sadden” the red, blue, green, and purple dyes. It provides information on more than 10 distinct recipes for alkanet (Anchusa tinctoria) root dye. Alkanet root produces burgundies and purples when dyed in an alkaline solution.