Abstract
BackgroundSince ancient times, man has learned to use plants to obtain natural dyes, but this traditional botanical knowledge (TBK) is eroding. In the late, during, and the early 1800s, there was an increase in research related to dye species, and this allowed the development of industry and economy in rural contexts of Southern Italy. Today, dyes are mainly obtained from synthetic products, and this leads to risks for human health related to pollution.MethodsStarting from the literature, three catalogs of the dyeing species (plants, algae, fungi, and lichens) used in the Mediterranean Basin and mainly in Southern Italy have been created. Percentages of parts used and colors extracted from species have been recorded and analyzed. The plant species present in the catalogs have been verified in the territories of Southern Italy, and the data have been registered. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted, in the region of Southern Italy, to verify the erosion level of traditional botanical knowledge, linked to the ethnobotanical dyeing, over time.ResultsA total of 524 species were recorded among plants, algae, fungi, and lichens, and related parts used and extracted pigments. Most uses concern the stems and leaves, and the most frequent color is yellow. From the on-field survey operations, 283 plant species have been verified. These represent 64.31% of the species reported in the flora of the dye plants produced. The results, from the ethnobotanical survey, show that only 8.6% of TBK remained in the collective memory.ConclusionsThis catalog is among the largest in this sector and is the basis for studies related to the restoration of an eco-sustainable economy which would allow the development of marginal areas present throughout Southern Italy.
Highlights
Since ancient times, man has learned to use plants to obtain natural dyes, but this traditional botanical knowledge (TBK) is eroding
Bourbons were responsible for restoring the cultivation of Isatis tinctoria, which in the previous century had been gradually replaced, in use, by Indigofera tinctoria L. [8]
The archeological remains found in archeological sites of Southern Italy, which document fabrics, objects, and paintings colored with plant-derived pigments, have been considered [5, 10, 25, 26]
Summary
Man has learned to use plants to obtain natural dyes, but this traditional botanical knowledge (TBK) is eroding. During the Middle Age, there was a great development of the cultivation of plants from which fibers were obtained (flax, hemp, and cotton); of the processing of animal hair, in particular wool; and of the art of silk production by the silkworm breeding [1] This led to the opening of the first real fabric factories; at the same time, the dyeing art was developed and it was during the Middle Ages that the first dyeing corporations and the first specialized texts were born. All the Bourbon sites, located throughout the kingdom for quite long periods, hosted plantations of dye plants, and many sites became centers of experimentation with new pigments extracted from plant species This condition contributed to the development and maintenance of peculiar dyeing traditions, in many centers of Southern Italy, such as the dyeing of wool at the village of Cerreto
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