Chrozophora tinctoria

It is an annual, typically found in nutrient-poor ground. It develops a large taproot. ==Taxonomy==

Chrozophora tinctoria was named Croton tinctorius by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The botanist Conrad Moench classified it in the genus Ricinoides in 1794, but the accepted name of the species was created in 1824 when Adrien-Henri de Jussieu moved it to Chrozophora. Together with its genus it is part of the Euphorbiaceae family. It has no accepted subspecies or varieties, but has several among its 30 synonyms. ==Use for dye==

Chrozophora tinctoria produced the blue-purple colorant "turnsole" (also known as katasol ) used in medieval illuminated manuscripts and as a food colorant in Dutch cheese and certain liquors. Its use was mostly as substitute of the more expensive Tyrian purple, the famous dye obtained from Murex molluscs. The color comes from the plant's fruit, specifically its dry outer coat. The colorant is also obtained from the translucent sap contained in the plant cells when the leaves of the plant are broken off and exposed to the air. Different shades of blue and purple may also be obtained when the juice extracts are exposed to the vapors emitted from ammonia (NH3), and which in France, during the late 19th century, was produced by applying fresh horse manure and urine to the fabric that was soaked with the plant extract. ==References==