The function of Salicornia in dye

[DanDSilva]

Hello,

I recently came across this thread discussing making a brush-on dye which begins by boiling some Salicornia in the water before adding the dyestuffs and other ingredients.  I'd really like to try it.  All the ingredients are readily available and not too expensive except for the Salicornia itself, which it seems I can only get from specialty online food stores that charge quite a bit in shipping because it's a fresh vegetable.

I was wondering if anyone could explain or at least speculate on what purpose the plant serves in the dye and whether it would be possible to substitute anything for it.  I know it's alkaline and high in salt, but I don't know if either of those is what's important; plants contain so many different substances.  I have tried contacting the OP but since he hasn't been active outside of that one thread and it was seven years ago, I don't really expect an answer.

Edited September 23, 2022 by DanDSilva

[TomE]

I'm gonna take a WAG that it's the tannins or saponins in Salicornia that are useful for a leather dye, as a vehicle to improve solubility and penetration of pigments.  Short answer:  I dunno. 

"Salicornia plants have been screened for phytochemical profile and presence of a range of carbohydrates, proteins, oils, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, sterols, saponins, alkaloids, and tannins have been reported. Water and alcohol extraction followed by component profiling has indexed many potentially bioactive compounds. Studies have reported the presence of dietary fibers, bioactive polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, sterols, flavonoids, and minerals (Mg, Ca, Fe, K) in S. herbacea (Essaidi et al. 2013)." 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4835422/

[DanDSilva]

Thanks.  Yeah, I thought that'd be it.

So if I want to recreate this recipe, I'll just have to save up enough to actually order the real thing.

[chuck123wapati]

17 minutes ago, DanDSilva said:

Thanks.  Yeah, I thought that'd be it.

So if I want to recreate this recipe, I'll just have to save up enough to actually order the real thing.

find out if you live where you can just go out and pick it.

The species of Salicornia are widely distributed over the Northern Hemisphere and in southern Africa, ranging from the subtropics to subarctic regions. There is one species present in New Zealand^[10] but the genus is absent from Australia and South America.^[8]