Mature Persian Berries (100g)

Persian Berries (Rhamnus cartharticus) or Avignon berries are amongst my favourite dyes and I usually have a pot on the go. They were extensively used in the Middle Ages to yield a golden yellow veering towards bronze. They are high in tannin which means they will dye cotton and other cellulose fibres well, but also dye wool too. Add a rusty nail or two to the dye bath to achieve a lovely olive green.

Persian berries are substantive (they need no mordant), but you will get a better fix and depth of colour if fibres are pre-mordanted with Alum.

These berries come from Rhamnus cartharticus, the purging buckthorn, a native to Britain and used extensively in hedging in England and a good source of food for the brimstone butterfly, which will travel  up to twenty miles in search of it.