Indian madder is a scrambling vine in the coffee family whose long red roots were used for centuries to dye cloth red. In India it's known as manjistha, an important plant in Ayurvedic medicine. It grows wild across much of Africa and Asia, but it isn't native to the United States.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A climber that can reach about 11 ft (3.5 m), hooking onto other plants with tiny prickles on its stems and leaves. Its red roots can grow more than 3 ft (1 m) long.
- Leaves
- Lance-shaped to oval leaves, 0.6–1.6 in (1.5–4 cm) long, appear in starry rings of 4–8 around the stem.
- Flowers
- Tiny pale yellow flowers, about 1/8–3/16 in (3–5 mm) across, with five petals, gathered in loose clusters at the branch tips and leaf bases.
- Fruit
- Small round berries about 3/16 in (4–6 mm) across, ripening from red to black.
Where it lives
- Range
- Native across much of Africa and Asia, including the Himalayas, India, China, Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East. It is not native to North America.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- The roots contain the red pigment purpurin. They were grown and harvested for dye and for the artist's pigment madder lake until synthetic dyes replaced them in the mid-1800s.
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