YELLOW
TURMERIC
Curcuma longa
The turmeric root is a power ful spice with
incredible medicinal proper ties. It also
happens to make a ver y popular natural
yellow dye, used a lot in India.
The dried roots are ground up into a
powder and can then be used in cooking
or for dyeing cloth.
Traditionally Buddhist monks dye their
robes with turmeric, as its yellow
colour is associated with the
sun, an impor tant religious
symbol. Tumeric is also a
ver y good substitute for
the more expensive
dye, saf fron...SAFFRON
Crocus sativus
Used for over 3,500 years, saf fron is now
one of the most expensive spices in the
world by weight. Saf fron is used in cooking,
as a per fume, in medicine and as a bright
yellow dye.
Saf fron consists of the central par ts of
the saf fron crocus flower, the par t that
the flower would use to reproduce, except
that the saf fron crocus is sterile; it can only
reproduce with human help, and so is not
found anywhere in the wild. It is grown
mainly in Iran and India, Spain and Greece.
Only the purest white silks and linens
were suitable for dyeing with saf fron and
so the colour came to be used to symbolise
status. Chinese Emperors used to have
their robes dyed with saf fron, as did
the daughters of royalty in Europe.
Saf fron-dyed bandages have
even been found on mummies
in ancient Egypt.Have a look at the Latin names for these
planets. Do you notice that some of them
have the sound “tinct” in them? The word
“tinctura” in Latin means to dye or colour, and
so these plants were names for their colour ful
proper ties! It’s also where we get the word
“tint”, which means a hint of colour.FU
N (^) FACTS
GOING GREEN!