The Armenian cochineal is a scale insect indigenous to the Ararat plain and Aras River valley in the Armenian Highlands. It was formerly used to produce an eponymous crimson carmine dyestuff known in Armenia as vordan karmir (Armenian for “worm’s red”) and historically in Persia as kirmiz. The species is critically endangered within Armenia. The Armenian cochineal scale insect, Porphyrophora hamelii, is in a different taxonomic family from the cochineal found in the Americas. Both insects produce red dyestuffs that are also […]
Archives: Natural dyes
Natural indigo is most commonly obtained from the Indigofera plant, native to the tropics, notably the Indian subcontinent. The primary commercial indigo species in Asia was true indigo (Indigofera tinctoria, also known as I. sumatrana). A variety of plants have provided indigo blue throughout history. A common alternative used in the relatively colder subtropical locations […]
Natural sources also include mollusks: the Murex sea snails produce a mixture of indigo and dibromoindigo (red) which together produce a range of purple hues known as Tyrian purple. Light exposure during part of the dying process can convert the dibromoindigo into indigo resulting in blue hues known as royal blue or hyacinth purple.
