very slow dyeing

digging up an old pond [basically a bathtub lined with a plastic pond liner, black on one side and white on the other]

i discovered to my surprise that the roots of the adjacent tree

a rauriko* [Coprosma australis]

had made a pink print on the plastic

the weight of the rocks hiding the plastic and the force of the roots pushing up and seven years of contact

in the damp dark earth

had resulted in magic

it's a known dye plant traditional to Maori

apparently yielding yellow from the bark

and also sometimes red

[the latter i suspect in conjunction with alkali]

but not something i'd played with yet

even though they grow outside my door

they belong to the plant family Rubiaceae

and so are a relation of madder [Rubia tinctorum]

which is of course known for the brilliant red dye

contained in the roots

* this is the spelling i've been using for years of the common name and can't recall where i sourced it

BUT

i have been advised by somebody who knows

that it should be

raurekau

except that in the Maori dictionary [where the link will take you] it comes up as Coprosma grandifolia

curiouser and curiouser

said Alice

as she stepped through the looking glass