Natural Dyes from Invasive Species Near You

Invasive plants are a problem world wide. Here in New England there are several well established invaders that are also well-known dyes; Alder Buckthorn (aka Glossy Buckthorn), Common Buckthorn, and Common Reeds.

Buckthorn is very well known. The immature seed heads of Common Reeds (Phragmites australis) are less well known. They arrived from their native range in Europe in the late 18th and early 19th century. You can see these reeds in ditches and waterways of all kinds where I live. They form large dense banks of reeds that crowd out all the native species including native reeds and cattails. Growing between 8 and 14 feet high, they have large purple, seed heads in August that turn to tan fluff in September and October. You can learn more about these reeds and how to tell them from native reeds at the New York Invasive Species (is) Information website, Mass Audubon "About Common Reed", and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources "Non-native subspecies Phragmites (Common Reed) (Phragmites australis subsp. australis) website.

A non-native species that causes harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health (Executive Order 13751) - "Invasive & Non-Native Species" National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/subjects/invasive/what-are-invasive-species.htm

Collecting The Purple Seed Heads

These invasive reeds spread by both rhizomes and by wind-blown seeds. Harvesting seed heads and boiling them kills the seeds and slows the spread of this plant. Even so, I would play it safe, do not put the dye pot waste in your compost. The purple seed heads can be harvested in August. You can use them fresh or store them frozen for later use. Seed heads are easy to clip or you can snap them off at the node below the head. (Image on the right)

Reaching the seed heads is the trick when this plant can grow up to 14 feet tall. Brining a hook on a pole is sometime needed. I've even heard of some dyers on paddle boards collecting them from the water. As with any foraged dye, use best practices when collecting them. In this case, taking as much of it as you can is a good thing.

WARNING: because they grown in ditches along roadsides these places may look like an attractive place to collect material. Be careful of, not only traffic but also, ditches that are deeper than they seem. A coat hook on a pole is an important tool to bring the seed head to you. Don't try to go to it.

I've also waited for a rainy day, when the heads are weighed down with water and bend to side of the ditch. Using this technique I was able to harvest a large re-useable grocery bag full of heads in about an hour.

How Much To Collect?

Generally with fresh dyestuff you want between 100% to 200% of the dry weight of your material to be dyed. I got good results in that range. There was no difference in quality of dye between fresh and frozen heads.

The Dyeing Process

This dye releases best in hot water, creating a red liquid. Of course, once you add the mordant it won't stay that way. I cook a large pot of seed heads on at boil for several hours, adding more water as needed. I'm trying to extract color AND kill the seeds.

Once the water is deep red, remove the reeds and dispose of them in the trash.

For a complete sample set collect some of the dye bath to set aside and cool. This will be your Aluminum Triformate dye bath. The rest of the dye bath can be divided and used hot for all remaining mordants of your choice.

For large dye baths use all the liquid with a pre-mordant of your choice.

Pink, Green, & Yellow:

As you can see from there photos, you can get a range of colors from Common Reed immature seed heads.

Pinks: The mordant was oak gall - shown in lower row, in the middle.

Greens: The mordant is ferrous sulfate or copper sulfate. Ferrous sulfate gave army greens on the lower right side of the photo. Copper sulfate produced a gold-green on the upper right.

Yellows: The mordants were aluminum triformate with cool water and a 24 hours soak. Adding washing soda to this mix increases the brightness. The addition of vinegar instead of washing soda turns the yellows a little browner. (Shown on the left side)

Tans: I added potassium aluminum sulfate and it produced a light tan (not shown above).

Next Fall

The season to collect Common Reed seed heads has already past. Next fall I will gather more, prepare proper recipes, and create an updated blog. In the meantime I hope you will experiment with dyeing with invasive species near you.