Month: November 2016
A Travelling Botanist: Botanical Rainbow
Guest blog by: Sophie Mogg
With the latest installment looking at the cotton industry, I thought that it might be interesting to follow up with a few snippets about natural dyes derived from plants. In today’s blog post I will be taking a closer look at turmeric (Curcuma longa), true indigo (Indigo tinctoria) and madder root or dyer’s madder (Rubia tinctorum).

Turmeric belongs to the Zingiberaceae family which also includes cardammon and ginger. It is a herbaceous perennial that produces underground modified stems known as rhizomes which acts as a store for starch, proteins and other valuable nutrients. Rhizomes are useful in other ways as new plants can be propagated from the rhizomes that are harvested each year. The rhizomes themselves would be boiled for up to 45 minutes before being dried in a hot oven and ground to form a powder which can be used as a beautiful yellow dye. Unfortunately turmeric is not colour-fast and so was often over-coloured with mustard or various pickles to help compensate for this. Medicinally turmeric has reported uses in Ayurvedic practices for treating colds and infections as well as the Siddha medicinal practice where it is used as an energy centre due to representing the solar plexus chakra. Several studies have shown that turmeric also has antibacterial and antifungal properties with studies suggesting that turmeric could be used as a preservative in the food industry. Turmeric is also used in cooking for savoury dishes as well as the predecessor of litmus paper to test pH.

The native location of Indigo tinctoria is unknown as it has been cultivated for centuries across Asia and Africa. Indigo is a shrub reaching approximately 2M tall that produces flowers in various shades of pink and violet. Depending upon the climate Indigo is grown in it can be an annual, biannual or perennial. The deep blue dye that is produced from this species is obtained through soaking and fermenting the leaves which allows conversion of glycoside idican into indigotin (the blue dye). The dye has also been used within paintings dating back to the Middle ages. Indigo tinctoria is part of the bean family (Fabaceae) and so is also used within crop rotation by farmers in order to improve soil quality for subsequent crops.

The madder root produces various different coloured dyes ranging from reds, to pinks and oranges depending upon the conditions the plant was grown in and how the roots were subsequently treated. It belongs to the family of Rubiaceae, the same family as coffee and is a relatively tall perennial plant with evergreen leaves reaching heights of 1.5M. The dye is extracted through the process of fermenting, drying or using various acids to treat the roots, that are commonly harvested during the first year of a plants growth. One of the more commonly known dyes is referred to as madders lake, a dark red produced by purpurin being mixed with alkaline solutions. These dyes can be used to colour leather, wool, cotton and silk but are typically used with a fixative or mordant such as alum to help the dye fix to the material.
Tea can also be used as a dye, with different varieties of tea producing their own unique shades. With any kind of dye the colour will fade with time but it can be stabilised by using vinegar. As previously mentioned in my other posts both saffron and henna are used as dyes also.
Have your say in which species appear in future installments of the travelling botanist. Our journey will soon take us to South-East Asia where we explore some more intriguing plants.
You can find more information here:
Something Fishy
An update from Luke about the glowing aquaponics systems on the Museum’s third floor.
Today’s post is by Luke Gleadall. Luke works with both the Visitor Team and Learning and Engagement, and he is also the project lead on Aquaponics at Manchester Museum. Here is a look at some of the work he has been doing over the last 12 months.
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Something Fishy
We have just past the one year mark of the opening of The Study at Manchester Museum – which was also the same time we installed our aquaponic system. It was a great year working with experts and taking part in lots of training, including a week in Wales at Humble by Nature on a weeklong aquaponic course.
If you have visited the museum you may have seen the pink glow of the greenhouse on the 3rd floor that was home to our Mint and Carp. The water containing waste (poop) from the carp is pumped through the white towers…
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A Travelling Botanist: A plant worth its weight in gold!
Guest blog series by: Sophie Mogg
To those of you who cook exquisite dishes using saffron, I am sure you are aware of its beautiful aroma and colour as well as its hefty price tag. The question I want to ask is, can you name the plant saffron is derived from?

Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world and is harvested from Crocus sativus, commonly referred to as the saffron crocus. C. sativus will grow to approximately 20-30cm and produce up to four flowers, the saffron itself being the stigmata of the plant and often referred to as strands. This domesticated crocus is in fact sterile and so bulbs must be divided and replanted in order for more crocuses to grow. This plant is sterile due to it’s triploid genome, meaning that it has three paired sets of chromosomes.
Saffron, like tea, is hand-harvested with each flower only yielding 3 strands. The flowers bloom at dawn, gradually withering throughout the day and the stigmata rapidly losing their aroma and colour hence the flowers must be collected quickly so that the saffron can be removed from the flower and dried. It is estimated that over 85,000 flowers would be required to produce 1 kg of saffron. These factors are what contribute to the high sale price of saffron. In order to keep your saffron fresh, buy it in small quantities and store it in an airtight container away from sunlight. This will ensure it stays in top condition for 3-6 months.
The use of saffron is not limited to South Asia and is often used to impart a pale orange-yellow hue to foods such as rice but it also features in Swedish baked goods, soups and Italian liqueurs such as Strega and Fernet. Kashmiri saffron, produced in Pakistan, is commercially sold for use as both a dye and a folk remedy for melancholy. Saffron has also had notable references made to it in the treatment of scarlet fever, measles, Alzheimer’s disease and is currently being investigated for its potential to treat to asthma and insomnia. If you’re interested in the research conducted into the use of saffron you can find all the relevant links here.
Please complete the poll to have a say in the type of plant that features in the series. If you choose other, please specify what you would like to see.
For more information:
Interesting facts about Crocus sativus
Did you know you can request a guest blog on a plant of your choice? Comment below with your favourite plant and if it’s in our collection and found within South Asia or Europe, I’ll be happy to feature it!
A busy week of consulting!
All the curators have been out and about over half term, in Manchester and beyond! We’re helping to spread the word about our new museum development plans. We want to hear what people think about our plans to build an extension to the Manchester Museum. It will house a new permanent gallery focusing on the history and culture of South Asia as well as a new exhibition space for host blockbuster shows. If you want to find out more, keep track of our progress on our Courtyard Project blog.