Betulaceae Alnus rubra Bong.
Red Alder
Thompson - Dye, Red
Use documented by:
Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 188
View all documented uses for
Alnus rubra Bong.
Scientific name: Alnus rubra Bong.
USDA symbol: ALRU2 (
View details at USDA PLANTS site)
Common names: Red Alder
Family: Betulaceae
Family (APG): Betulaceae
Native American Tribe: Thompson
Use category: Dye
Use sub-category: Red
Notes: Bark boiled in water to make a red dye and used for mountain goat wool, cloth and other items. The dye was used to color mountain goat wool and other cloth and to deepen the color of basket materials such as bitter cherry bark. Skins were tanned and dyed simultaneously by soaking them in a cooled solution of the bark.
RECRD: 32601 id: 2589