Cockatrice: The Lochac Arts and Sciences Magazine. Article from Issue 16 The Great Turnsole Quest by Mistress Roheisa le Sarjent Turnsole is a plant native to coastal Medi- shipped as far as Northern England and terranean countries, from which a purple were used by the illuminators of the Lin- dye was extracted and used as an illumi- disfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells2. nators pigment and a food colouring dur- Medieval pigment recipes instruct the art- ing the Middle Ages. The pigment was ist to soak a piece of turnsole (rag) in gum- also called ‘Folium‘ perhaps because the water or glair (beaten egg white) and wring long tailed ‘s‘ in Latin Torna-ad-soleum it out to release the dye3. has been confused with an ‘f‘ by later writers1. Turnsole or folium pigment is Turnsole apparently became a generic term more correctly a range of colours from for any rags of blue-red dye used in this blue through purple to red depending on way, whether they were made with the the PH of the solution. herb turnsole, or from grape juice, mul- berry juice, brazil wood, woad, cochineal, The History of Druggs by Monsieur lichen or anything else4. Pomet, published in 1709 gives a fine de- scription: The One True Turnsole This Plant which we call Turnsole, the Finding the turnsole plant is not as easy at Greeks call Heliotropion, the Sun it may, at first, seem. Unfortunately the Follower, because its name has been applied to several plants Flower always turn to the Sun. It bears whose flowers or leaves “follow the sun”. There are at least two other plants com- Beries always three set together, not monly known as Turnsole and several oth- much unlike the ers with related names. Additionally our Palma christi; whence it is call’d by Pliny, quarry has been given several different Heliotropium Tricoccum, the Turnsole botanical names at one time or another, and with three had at least one change of botanical genus. Berries which when they are at their full (Croton to Euphorbiaciae) No nursery or seed Maturity, have within them, between the merchant I contacted had any idea what I outward was talking about and several tried fobbing Skin and the Kernel or Seed, a certain me off with one of the false turnsoles. Juice, or Moisture, which being rubbed upon Paper or The plant we are seeking is not the Greater Turnsole or Heliotrope5 (also called Potato Cloth, at first appears of a fresh and lively weed) described by the herbalist Nicholas green colour, but presently changes into a Culpepper6. That plant is Heliotropium kind of europaeum, from the family Boraginaceae, bluith Purple upon the Paper or Cloth; a relative of the herb Borage. Although it and the same Cloth afterwards wet in is a low growing weedy annual like the true Water or white Turnsole, it does not bear tri-lobed berries Wine and wrung forth, will strike the and has no dye properties. said Water or wine into a red or Claret- wine Colour. Nor is it Litmus7, also called Turnsole or Or- chil. This is the lichen, Roccella tinctoria, that In other words the juice was extracted also produces a dye used for illumination from the turnsole fruit, soaked into cloth during the Middle Ages. It too ranges from rags and later extracted for use, in this blue through purple to red depending on PH case, as a food colouring. This process al- levels, as do many other vegetable dyes, in- lowed the seasonal dyestuff to be pre- cluding the juice of red cabbage. Litmus was served and stored or exported to countries used to make the original Litmus paper and where the plant did not grow. As early as the word derives from the Old Norse litmosi, the 7th century turnsole rags were being (litr = color or dye + mosi = bog or moss). Article: Copyright 2002 Belinda Sibly. Design and Layout: Copyright 2006 Caitlin Macpherson. Cockatrice: The Lochac Arts and Sciences Magazine. Article from Issue 16 Article: Copyright 2002 Belinda Sibly. Design and Layout: Copyright 2006 Caitlin Macpherson. Cockatrice: The Lochac Arts and Sciences Magazine. Article from Issue 16 It is not Heliotrope8, also called Turnsole it is a naturalised weed in Australia, par- or Cherry Pie. This is Heliotropium Peruvi- ticularly WA and SA and has been reported ana or Heliotropium arborescens, a garden in the North American states of Alabama plant popular with the Victorians. It is a and Maryland.12 native of Peru, and was introduced to Europe in 1735. It grows up to 4 feet tall Identifying and has purplish-blue (turnsole coloured) “Chrozophora tinctoria” flowers that give off a sweet almond/va- The plant is a low growing annual herb that nilla fragrance reminiscent of Cherry pie. flowers about November to March in the It is some times used in perfume but has southern hemisphere or June to September no dye properties. in the northern hemisphere. The leaves are a uniform green, about the colour of a po- Nor is our plant the common Sunflower tato plant, with a grey/green woolly un- from which we get sunflower seeds and derside. They vary in shape and size, the sunflower oil. This plant is Helianthus smaller ones looking similar to basil, the annuus and is a native of western North larger ones being more like a heater America, which was introduced into Eu- shield.13 On the back of the large leaves you rope in the 16th century. may see a “crows foot” where the paler stem meets the leaf, then spreads into three The plant we are looking for is in fact prominent claw-like leaf veins. The flower Chrozophora tinctoria ({L} A. Juss. ex Spreng spikes look rather like stumpy grey-green formerly Croton tinctorium, {Linné} heads of wheat. The male buds are at the Tournesolia tinctoria, {Baillon} or tip of the flower spike, while the female Heliotropium Tricoccum {Pliny})9. It should flowers show as a few bright yellow petals not be confused with Chrozophora plicata, a towards the base of the spike. The seed cap- related but non-dye bearing species. From sules or fruit are grey-green and knobbly the Euphorbiaciae family it is, as Monsieur like a miniature horse chestnut or a tiny In a dark damp place lay rich garden soil on a tray and get “a healthy man who has been drinking wine copiously to urinate on the earth”. The turnsole rags are then placed on a drying rack in the fumes of the urine and left for several days. Pomet so cleverly guessed, distantly cousin mace head, except that they have three dis- to the Palma Christi or Castor Bean. Thank- tinctive lobes. The juice squeezed from the fully it is not poisonous like Castor Bean, ripe fruit will start out green or bluish green source of the lethal ricin toxin. but will soon change to a deep inky blue and shift though purple to red as it dries.14 Gerard’s Herbal calls it Heliotropium mi- nus or Small Torne-sole and says that How did they make “…with the small Tornsole they in France Turnsole Rags? doe die linnen rags and clouts into a per- One of the most detailed medieval recipes, fect purple colour, wherewith cookes and from the Neapolitan De Arte Illuminandi of confectioners doe colour iellies, wines, the late fourteenth century, instructs that meates, and sundry confectures...”10 the tri-lobed seeds are to be picked care- fully off their stems, without bruising, and Generally considered a weed, Chrozophora squeezed in a linen cloth to extract the juice. tinctoria has many common names includ- Pieces of clean linen or muslin, having first ing dyer’s-croton (English) been soaked in a lye of water and quick- giradol (Spanish), maurelle (French) lime (calcium oxide) washed and dried, are lackmuskraut (German), akbas (Turkish) then soaked in the turnsole juice for a day and Faqqoos el-homaar (Arabic). In Tur- and a night. Now comes the fun part. In a key it has long been used as a source of dark damp place (like a basement) one lays dye for Turkish carpets and in Palestine rich garden soil on a tray and has “a healthy is used, much like henna, to dye the fin- man who has been drinking wine copi- gernails. It grows on dry fallow land, ously urinate on the earth”. The juice amongst crops such as wheat or onions, soaked cloths are then placed on a drying and in vineyards. Found in most Medi- rack in the fumes of the urine and left for terranean and Middle Eastern countries11, several days. The object of this colourful Article: Copyright 2002 Belinda Sibly. Design and Layout: Copyright 2006 Caitlin Macpherson. Cockatrice: The Lochac Arts and Sciences Magazine. Article from Issue 16 procedure is to expose the cloths to an alka- with more hygienic variations of the tradi- line environment so as to push up the PH tional recipes, perhaps adding a little dy- level. (Adding an alkaline solution to the ers alum to the juice or drying the cloths juice does not seem to work so well) This (in a dark place) over paper towels soaked fixes the colour in the blue/purple tones, in an ammonia based cleaning product. and if not done correctly means the cloths Make notes of what you do and the will spoil and become red. Finally the cloths amounts of everything you use so that, if are stored in a dry acid free environment or successful, you can pass your recipes on to again they will tend to turn red15.