Chrozophora tinctoria explained

Chrozophora tinctoria (commonly known as dyer's croton, giradol, turnsole or dyer's litmus plant[1]) is a plant species native to the Mediterranean, the Middle East, India, Pakistan, and Central Asia.[2] [3] [4] [5] It is also present as a weed in North America and Australia.[6]

Description

It is an annual, typically found in nutrient-poor ground. It develops a large taproot.[6] The plant is erect and covered with wool-like hairs. The ash-green leaves are alternate. The tiny monecious flowers are grouped in a raceme. The lower, female flowers lack petals and the upper male flowers have five small yellow petals. Pollination is by ants.[6] The fruits are conspicuous and consist of three dark green conjoined spheres. Their surface is decorated with white scales and warty structures. Each sphere contains three seeds, which are propelled away from the plant by the mechanical force of the mature fruit twisting as it opens.[6] It is considered a poisonous plant. Its consumption may cause stomach upset, vomiting, nausea, and diarrhoea.[7]

Use for dye

Chrozophora tinctoria produced the blue-purple colorant "turnsole" (also known as katasol or folium[8]) used in medieval illuminated manuscripts and as a food colorant in Dutch cheese and certain liquors.[9] Its use was mostly as substitute of the more expensive Tyrian purple, the famous dye obtained from Murex molluscs.[10] The color comes from the plant's fruit, specifically its dry outer coat.[11] The colorant is also obtained from the translucent sap contained in the plant cells when the leaves of the plant are broken off and exposed to the air.[12] Different shades of blue and purple may also be obtained when the juice extracts are exposed to the vapors emitted from ammonia (NH3), and which in France, during the late 19th century, was produced by applying fresh horse manure and urine to the fabric that was soaked with the plant extract.[12] The plant has historically been used throughout the Levant to dye clothing.[12] 100kg (200lb) of the plant produces 50kg (110lb) of sap, and with this quantity one is able to dye 25kg (55lb) of fabric rolls.[12]

In 2020, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from FCT NOVA, University of Porto and University of Aveiro, identified the complex chemical structure of the medieval purple-blue dye extracted from the fruits of Chrozophora tinctoria. The chemical structure of the medieval dye was a mystery until now. The extracts obtained showed a novel blue chemical, chrozophoridine as the main chromophore.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Shmida, Avi . MAPA's Dictionary of Plants and Flowers in Israel . MAPA Publishers . Tel-Aviv. 2005 . 250. he. 716569354., s.v. Chrozophora tinctoria
  2. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=39838 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=chrozophora+tinctoria Altervista Flora Italiana, Tornasole comune, Turn Sole, tournesol, tornasol, Lackmuskraut, Chrozophora tinctoria (L.) A. Juss.
  4. Zervous, S., Raus, T. & Yannitsaros, A. (2009). Additions to the flora of the island of Kalimnos (SE Aegean, Greece). Willdenowia 39: 165-177.
  5. Dobignard, A. & Chatelain, C. (2011). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 3: 1-449. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
  6. Web site: Mifsud . Stephen . Chrozophora tinctoria (Dyer's Litmus) . Wild Plants of Malta . 22 April 2020.
  7. Abid, Mushtaq Ahmad, Muhammad Zafar, Sadia Zafar, Mohamed Fawzy Ramadan, Ashwaq T. Althobaiti, Shazia Sultana, Omer Kilic, Trobjon Makhkamov, Akramjon Yuldashev, Oybek Mamarakhimov, Khislat Khaydarov, Afat O. Mammadova, Komiljon Komilov and Salman Majeed. Aqsa . December 2023. Foliar epidermal and trichome micromorphological diversity among poisonous plants and their taxonomic significance. Folia Horticulturae. en. 35. 2. 243–274. 10.2478/fhort-2023-0019 . 2083-5965. free.
  8. Nabais. P.. Oliveira. J.. Pina. F.. Teixeira. N.. de Freitas. V.. Brás. N. F.. Clemente. A.. Rangel. M.. Silva. A. M. S.. Melo. M. J.. April 2020. A 1000-year-old mystery solved: Unlocking the molecular structure for the medieval blue from Chrozophora tinctoria, also known as folium. Science Advances. en. 6. 16. eaaz7772. 10.1126/sciadv.aaz7772. 32426456. 7164948. 2020SciA....6.7772N. 2375-2548. free.
  9. http://www.kremer-pigmente.com/media/pdf/36018e.pdf Chrozophora, Folium cloth
  10. M. Aceto, E. Calà, A. Agostino, G. Fenoglio, A. Idone, C. Porte, M. Gulmini, On the identification of folium and orchil on illuminated manuscripts, Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2016.08.046
  11. Melo . Maria J. . Castro . Rita . Nabais . Paula . Vitorino . Tatiana . The book on how to make all the colour paints for illuminating books: unravelling a Portuguese Hebrew illuminators' manual . Heritage Science . 2018 . 6 . 44 . 10.1186/s40494-018-0208-z . free .
  12. Book: Ḳrispil, Nissim. A Bag of Plants (The Useful Plants of Israel) . Cana Publishing House Ltd.. 3 (Ṭ.-M.) . 1985. Jerusalem. 627–629, 632–633 . he. 965-264-011-5 . 959573975 ., s.v. Chrozophora tinctoria
  13. Web site: 1000-Year-Old Mistery Unfolded With The Discovery Of Medieval Blue Dye Structure . 20 April 2020 . . 22 April 2020.

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