The Probert Encyclopaedia of Nature

MADDER

Madder (Rubia tinctorum) or dyer's madder, as it is also known, is a perennial herb of the family Rubiaceae native to the Mediterranean and Near East, with a long, reddish-brown, much-branched rhizome, red fibrous roots and rough, square, ascending, prickly stems which branch at the top. The stiff, lanceolate, sessile leaves have prickly margins and grow in whorls up the stem. The flowers are small, yellow in colour and are arranged in axillary and terminal dichasial cymes. The fruit is a globose, fleshy, purple, one-seeded berry. Madder was once widely grown for a source of a permanent red dye.
Research Madder