(Well.... a bunch anyway)
By Becki Stacy. See her page at: Plants Of Pern
Compiled By Ellen Anglin anglinsbees@yahoo.com
Key:
H=this plant is listed only in a historic manner, and may or may not currently exist onPern. It can probably be safely assumed it still exists somewhere.
I=This plant is a known import to Pern from Earth
N=This plant is a known native to Pern
?=I was uncertain of the information, and made an educated guess.
Bold = Plants that are likely to be of economic importance as dye plants.
Ash (I)
Growth form: Tree, hardwood
General habitat: 'higher reaches' (dragonlovers guide)-hills/higher ground over the flat plains(?)
Uses: ash bark used medicinally, as a diuretic and febrifuge.
Ash splints are used for basketry, wood is also used for tool handles and sporting equipment.
Parts used for Dyeing: Leaves and bark
Colors: From leaves: soft to bright yellow, grey and beige (with different mordants.)
Bark: Rose-tan to brown
Colorfastness: Excellent
Aspen (hardwood)
Growth form: Tree, hardwood
Parts used for Dyeing: Leaves and Twigs
Colors: From leaves: soft to bright yellow, Yellow-orange and beige Twigs: Soft Grey
Colorfastness: Excellent
Banana
Known locations: Boll \par Parts used for Dyeing: Skins from mature fruit. Skins must be chopped fine and fermented in water with sugar for several days. (Smells Foul)
Colors: Beige, Dark Brown, Tan, Warm gold, and Grey-brown
Colorfastness: Good
Beachberry
Uses: edible, used in pies.
(Barberry?) Yeilds a good strong yellow dye that does not require the use of mordants.
Beans (I,H)
Growth form: Earth beans Uses: food
Parts used for Dyeing: Vines, Liquor from cooking red kidney beans. Vines must be chopped fine and fermented in water for several days. (Smells Foul)
Colors: From leaves: Beige to yellow beige, tan, brownish grey, bright gold, gey-brown, grey-green, Red kidney beans give a terra cotta color.
Colorfastness: Fair to good
Berries (Bayberry?)
Known location: Igen/Lemos forest
Uses: Berry wax can be made into candles.
Misc.: Berries are often talked about, but sometimes not noted which type they are.
Parts used for Dyeing: Leaves and Berries
Colors: Leaves give strong yellow, gold, brilliant yellow, and Grey-green
Grey. waxy Berries yeild blue
Colorfastness: Good yellow, poor grey-green
Birch (Hardwood)
Growth form: tree
Known location: Igen/Lemos forests
Parts used for Dyeing: Leaves and bark
Colors: Leaves give good yellow, gold, and Tans
Outer bark yeilds Yellow, tan
Inner Bark: Orange or purplish brown
Colorfastness: Excellent leaf shades, Good Bark colors
Blackberries (I, same as black marshberries?)
Growth form: Earth blackberry bush
Known locations: High Reaches Hold
Uses: fruit, made into brandy
Parts used for Dyeing: Berries, new shoots with leaves, mature canes, and fall blackberry leaves.
Colors: Fruit: pink-tan, orchid and purple
Fresh leaves- Yellow to bright gold and soft orange
Autumn Leaves and Mature canes: Lovely grey and brown
New shoots: Yellow-green, warm golden brown, and greyish green
Colorfastness: Excellent
Blueberry (I)
Growth form: Earth blueberry bush
Uses: fruit, most popular for bubbly pies
Uses: fruit, made into brandy
Parts used for Dyeing: Very ripe berries, mush left after making jelly, leaves
Colors: Fruit: pink-tan, orchid and purple
Leaves- Brilliant Yellow to yellow green
Colorfastness: Leaves Excellent, Fruit- acceptable to poor.
Brassicae (Cabbage)
Known location: Nabol
Parts used for Dyeing: Red Cabbage leaves
Colors: Leaves- pink
Colorfastness: Unknown.
Cherries (I,H)
Growth form: Earth cherry tree(Choke cherry?)
Parts used for Dyeing: Fruit, leaves, Bark
Colors: Fruit: pink-tan, grey
Leaves- Yellow green, Gold, Beige
Bark- Grey to Purplish-Grey
Colorfastness: Leaves and bark Excellent, Fruit- good to fair.
Corn (I)
Growth form:Earth corn
Known locations: Paradise River Hold
Parts used for Dyeing: all parts (Not a strong dyestuff)
Colors: Yellow , yellow-green, tan, pale beige.
Colorfastness: Good to fair
Cotton (I)
Growth form: Same asTerran cotton- plant or tree, depending on climate and age of plant.
Known location: Fort Hold, Boll, Southern
Parts used for Dyeing: Flowers.
Colors: Yellow\par Colorfastness: Unknown
Cucumber
Uses: Food, used for burns
Parts used for Dyeing: Vines and Leaves- See Beans.
Colors: Shades of yellow and tan
Colorfastness: Good to fair
Fellis Tree (N)
Growth form: small, branchy, drooping tree.
Flowers: fragrant, pink(DragonQuest) yellow(DragonLovers Guide) clustered blooms with pointed petals. Has clusters of berry-like fruit.
Fruit: Fellis juice made from the fruit, which has tough skins. Known locations: Southern Weyr area, Nerat, Telgar Hold, Fort Hold, Paradise River Hold (wild), Ruatha
Uses: dye (dyes wherhide a deep green), narcotic painkiller that can be addictive. Wood is used to carve furniture.
Misc.: At Paradise river, Fellis trunks grow larger than 3 men could span with fingers touching. Large enough amounts can be lethal. (Nerkila)
Parts used for Dyeing: Likly fruits and /or leaves.
Colors: Deep green
Colorfastness: Unknown
Ferns
Growth form: Fern
Parts used for Dyeing: Leafy fronds.
Colors: Shades of green, yellow-green, gold and Brown
Colorfastness: Good to fair
Fingeroots (carrots) (I)
Known locations: Fort Hold, Nabol
Uses: edible
Parts used for Dyeing: Domestic carrot tops, wild carrot blooms or the whole plant.
Colors: green, chartreuse, yellow, orange, gold and Brown
Colorfastness: Shade may change with time
Grapes (I)
Growth form: Earth grapes (vines)
Known locations: Benden, Fort(H), Tillek, Nabol, Lemos, Nerat
Uses: fruit, wine.
Parts used for Dyeing: Fruit- See Blueberries
Grasses
Known locations: various forms exist over many parts of Pern
Uses: bedding
Parts used for Dyeing: Freshly cut leaves
Colors: Yellow , Gold and Grey\par Colorfastness: Excellent
Klahbark Tree (N)
Growth form: tree
Known locations: near Half-Circle seahold, Benden Hold
Parts used for Dyeing: Bark
Colors: Warm Tan, to Brown
Colorfastness: Unknown
Legumes (I)
Growth form: Earth legumes(?)
Known location: Fort Hold, Ruatha
Uses: edible, added to savory dishes to thicken them up,
Dyeing- See Beans
Mint
Known locations: Benden Weyr bowl
Uses: seasoning(?). Mint sticks rubbed over teeth as a toothbrush/mouthwash
Parts used for Dyeing: Whole Plant\par Colors: soft yellow, yellow-orange, tan-grey, gold.
Colorfastness: good
Mustard (Brassicae)
Known locations: Nabol
Parts used for Dyeing: Whole Plant
Colors: Pale yellow, yellow-green, tan, and soft grey, med. yellow, gold.
Colorfastness: Excellent
Nettleweed
Growth form: perennial plant.
Known location: Ruathan fields.
Uses: medicinal (used in a tonic), Edible (Tender grreens when cooked), and fibers for textiles.
Parts used for Dyeing: whole plant
Colors: Shades of yellow and yellow green, Chartreuse, grey-green, pinkish-grey and warm brown.
Colorfastness: Excellent to Good
Note: Mature nettle stems also yeild a fine fiber, similar to flax, sisal and ramie. Harvesting ans processing is similar to the other Bast fibers.
Oak (I,H)
Growth form: Tree
Parts used for Dyeing: Acorns, Fresh or Fallen Leaves, Bark
Colors: Acorns: shades of tan and brown
Fresh leaves: Yellow, gold and Tan
Fall leaves: Tan, Rusty tan and brown
Bark: Gold, Bright Gold, Strong yellow, Grey, red brown, and dark grey.
(Note: Oak bark is one of the best yellows available.)
Colorfastness: All Excellent
Onion (I)
Form: Same as earth onion
Known locations: (H)wild near Fort Hold, wild in Lemos/Igen forrest.
Parts used for Dyeing: Skins
Colors: all shades of yellow and gold, rust brown, olive and Khaki
Colorfastness: Fades with time and light
Parsnips (I)
Growth form: Terran parsnip\par Known location: Fort Hold
Uses: edible
Parts used for Dyeing: Green Leafy tops
Colors: shades of yellow, gold, and Tan
Colorfastness: Excellent
Pears (I,H)
Growth form: tree
Known location: High Reaches Hold, Nerat
Uses: fruit, made into brandy
Parts used for Dyeing: Leaves and fruit skins
Colors: soft shades of yellow and gold, beige
Colorfastness: Excellent for leaves
Pine (I)
Growth form: tree
Known locations: Nabol, Lemos
Misc.: grow quickly \par Parts used for Dyeing: Needles, Cones and Bark
Colors: Fresh Needles: Yellow Beige
Dry needles: Tan, Gold and Brown
Cones- Warm Tan
Bark: Warm tan, Pinkish-red,
Colorfastness: Good for all, Excellent for Bark
Raspberry (I)
Growth form: Earth raspberry bush
Uses: fruit
Parts used for Dyeing: Fresh or frost bitten leaves, new shoots or , mature canes, Berries.
Colors: Fruit: pink-tan, orchid and purple
Fresh leaves- Yellow to bright gold and soft orange
Autumn Leaves and Mature canes: Lovely grey and brown
New shoots: Yellow-green, warm golden brown, and greyish green
Colorfastness: variable \
Redfruit (apple) (I)
Growth form: Earth apple tree
Known locations: Southern, Nerat, High Reaches Hold, Nabol, Igen
Uses: edible, made into cider and brandy. Trees are also used for their wood.
Parts used for Dyeing: Fresh leaves, bark, roots, prunings, fruit peelings.
Colors: Fresh leaves- Yellow to bright gold and grey.
Bark and roots: Yellow-tan, rose-tan, Grey
Fruit: Pale yellow, soft tan
Colorfastness: Unknown
Note: Applebark Dyebath has a very pleasant aroma.
Redroots (Beets?)
Known locations: northern farms (under protection of Benden), Ista, wild on the rocky forested slopes of Igen/Lemos.
Uses: edible
Parts used for Dyeing: Root and Leaves
Colors: Yellow-tan and red
Colorfastness: Fugitive- fades rapidly.
Redwort (N)
Growth form: grows in clumps close to the ground. Has a thick stem, with reddish veins and produces flat-topped
purple or rose flowers.
Uses: as a scrubbing/cleansing agent (disinfectant?) and also for infection.
Misc.: leaves a red stain on hands, has nasty stench (Nirelka), clean-smelling herb (Dragonlovers) used as an antiseptic wash and protects skin from being affected by numbweed.
Parts used for Dyeing: Probably Leaves and stems, possibly roots.
Colors: Pink to red
Colorfastness: Unknown.
Rock weeds (Lichen?)
Known location: Ruatha (Pleateau Hold) \par Lichens yeild a large variety of dyes, Colors vary from rich laveder, purple and magenta to yellows, oranges, and grey, depending on the variety of lichen gathered. Too many possibilites to cover in a short space. Lichens were used to dye many of the colors used in traditional scottish Tartans.
Seaweeds
Growth form: (asummed)earth-type seaweed
General habitat: near shore.
Known location(s): beaches by Half-Circle seahold.
Uses: Boiled for the thick juice in the stalk, which is used as a preventitive for many sicknesses and bone ailments. Also used to make balls of a sweet that can be chewed for hours, keeping mouth fresh and moist. Purple grass seed (unknown whether grass or seed is 'purple') used to flavor the balls. Leaves can be wrapped around meat to allow it to slow-cook.
Parts used for Dyeing: all types of Dulse, Kelp and seaweed. (Bath Smells HORRIBLE!)
Colors: Tan, Taupe and Beige
Colorfastness: Excellent
Sky-broom (N)
Growth form: several dragonlengths tall. "The tall trunks terminate in bushy crowns of tuffted needles, much like the growth on Earth cedars. The wood is dense and metal-hard, covered with a rough mat-like material protection from threadfall." (DragonLovers) "Root systems that radiated in a great circle around the trunk to support the soaring limbs and tufted heights." (Renegades). Twined trunks, short tufts of spiny leavs. The crowns have\par coarse, short leavs. The tops are flat.
Known locations: Lemos
Uses: construction
Misc.: the wood is difficult to work, but highly prized in the WoodcraftHall
Parts used for Dyeing:(If assumed to be similar to Cedar) Foliage
Colors: Bright Yellow, Yellow orange, tan and brown
Colorfastness: Unknown.
Tansy
Uses: medicinal, used for a tonic. Relieves heart palpitations.
Parts used for Dyeing: Flowering Heads, Leaves, Whole Plant
Colors: all types of gold, yellow, yellow-green, green, bronze and olive green.
Colorfastness: Excellent
Walnut
Growth form: tree
Known location: Benden Hold
Uses: edible nut , wood
Parts used for Dyeing: Fresh leaves, nuts, Green nut husks or hulls, bark.
Colors: Leaves- yellow, bright yellow, gold, brown
Hulls- Brown, Dark Brown, Taupe, tan and bright rusty brown. Black when dyed over Indigo
Bark- Brown- not as rich as the hulls
Colorfastness: Excellent- The best for rich browns!
Willow (I,H)
Growth form: tree
Known location: Nabol
General habitat: wet riverbanks
Uses: willow herb (same plant?) as a tea to keep arthritis under control. Used in combination with sage and wintergreen as a tea for headaches. Willowsalic used for headache, taken in crystal-like form.
Parts used for Dyeing: Leaves twigs and bark
Colors: Pale yellow, yellow-green, gold, soft grey.
Colorfastness: Good to Excellent
Not Mentioned in Books, but probably Introduced by Colonists
Woad
Growth form: Plant- a flat rosette of shiny leaves
Habitat: Sunny, well drained, sandy, alkaline soil. Temperate Climates.
Uses: dye plant. Yeilds dye in first yesr of growth. May become a noxious weed in some areas
Parts used for Dyeing: Mature Leaves- must be fermented and the blue dye chemically reduced to bind it onto the fiber. Dipped fibers turn blue on exposure to air.
Colors: Blue, from palest to darkest.
Colorfastness: Varies
Indigo
Growth form: Herbacious Plant
Habitat: Tropical
Uses: dye plant. Yeilds rich blue dye (Dye used to dye denim blue)
Parts used for Dyeing: Leaves yeild a blue powder when fermented and oxygenated.- The resulting blue dye must be chemically reduced to make it capable of binding to the fiber. Dipped fibers turn blue on exposure to air.
Colors: Blue, from palest to darkest.
Colorfastness: Varies
Madder
Growth form: Herbacious plant. weedy, brittle, may form trailing vine like growth.
Habitat- Rich, well drained alluvial soils. Will grow in temperate climates, as well as more tropic ones.
Uses: dye plant. Yeilds rich red dye.
Parts used for dyeing: Roots,and powder made from fermented roots.
Colors: Shrinp pink to scarlet and all shades in between. The best qualities of dye will\par give clearer pinks and reds, while lower quality product will give rustier or browner shades. Roots must be three years old to produce dye.
Logwood
Habitat- Tropics
Growth Form: Tree or bush- may be trained into living fences.
Uses: dye plant. Yeilds blue, purple or black dye.
Parts used for Dyeing: Powdered wood
Colors: blue, purple, black or grey. all shades.
Colorfastness: Varies based on skill of dyer and available chemicals.
Bloodroot
Habitat- Temperate fields and forests edges
Growth form- Plant- See N. American Wildflower; Bloodroot
Uses; Decorative plantings, amy be used to color things red- Sap is blood red.
Colors: Pink to blood red. May be combined with other dyes to get warmer shades, such as orange or purple.
Parts used for Dyeing: Roots
Colorfastness: Varies
Note: While this plant yeilds lovely shades of pink and red, many people are allergic to it!. Asthma is the most comon reaction to the sap of the earth plant, but the variety found on Dragonsfire MOO caused widespread rashes after the plant was "rediscovered" and used extensively for a season or two.
Copper
Mineral, not a plat
Use in Dyeing: Copper is oxidized with ammonia to produce a clear turquoise blue. This may be used alone as a dye, or as a mordant for other dyestuffs.
Iron
Mineral, not a plant
Use in Dyeing: iron is oxidized chemically, or just by allowing iron scraps to rust in water.
This is used as a mordant for other dyestuffs.
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Nearly any plant will yeild some color if enough of it is boiled. Only a few plants have enough of the dye chemicals required to make them really useful as dye plants. If you don' t see what you are looking for colorwise, it is easy to assume that one of Perns native plants or lichens yeilds the color you are looking for. Be creative! Some fairly basic assumptions of dyeplants are:
Most leaves yeild green, yellow or beige colors- Special plants will yeild more intense colors, or more colorfast colors.
Barks tend to yeild browns, grey's and tans
Fruits and vegetables give soft versions of whatever color they are. These colors will usually fade quickly in sunlight or washing.
Yellow flowers often give yellow dyes. These may or may not be colorfast.
Dyes from powdered exotic woods can be nearly any color. Earth woods give us rich yellow-golds, reds, russets, blues, purples, and black. Anne only knows what colors may come from Pernese trees! You might want to name the wood after the place it comes from, or the color the wood is- Some Earth dye woods are Osage Orange (Gives lovely oranges and yellows), Brazilwood (Black Blue and Purples), and red sandalwood (Reds and Red-browns).
Have Fun!
Ellen Anglin