it's been very windy the last 10 hours or so, so it's a perfect time to go search for windfall/detached lichen. I need to know what to pick up, though, which is harder. (oakmoss makes a gorgeous but fugitive bright orchid purple from orchil, but I'm hoping to learn about some others too.)
- she/her
- seaslug.garden/
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in reply to @JhoiraArtificer's post:
oakmoss makes what color?? man dyeing rules and everyone involved in figuring out how to get color from plants and how to make that color stick is so so cool
RIGHT! like. it's SO PURPLE. I have heard that it is fairly fugitive but for the low price of "picking up windfall and having a stinky jar in my cupboard for 3 months" you bet I'm trying it. and then I'll do lightfastness tests lol
yes ha ha ha yes!!
I can imagine the faded flavor of it is gonna be very pretty too so it seems like a win all around
i've got a book on natural dyes! (natural dyes, plants & processes by jack kramer) heres what its got for lichens
parmelia saxatilis (found on east and west us coasts) gives a slightly reddish-brown color
p. omphalodes (brown lichen, found in alpine locations) gives a clean, dark brown color
p. centrifuga (found along northern great lakes shorelines and in the appalachians) gives a slightly reddish-brown color
alectoria sarmentosa (common on trees in mountains) gives a greenish-yellow color
cetraria glauca gives a yellow to yellow-brown color