Orchil
Original title: Urzela
Orchil, dye-yielding lichens once exported in quantity from Madeira and the Desertas until the mid-19th century.
Three lichens known by the name of orchil (a dye lichen) exist in the Madeira archipelago: Nemaria fuciformis, N. rocella and N. fucoides. These species, which contain a red colouring principle, were once exported in large quantities, but with the industrial processes for extracting aniline dyes their use in dyeing is today nil. Nemaria rocella and N. fuciformis were gathered mainly on the Desertas (‘deserted islands’), but both abound on the rocks of the north and south of Madeira.
Orchil was already being gathered in Madeira when Frutuoso wrote ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra), and the trade in and export of this lichen lasted until the middle of the 19th century.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 01Place
Places mentioned · 01
- Desertas
Santa Cruz. Main harvesting area for orchil.
An island group near Madeira that was already separated from it at the last eruptions and shares endemic species with it. It was the main orchil-harvesting area, and Wollaston found 89 beetle species there. The islands were investigated by scientific expeditions, including the Endurance scientists in 1914.
People
People mentioned · 01- Gaspar Frutuoso1522–1591
Author of Saudades da Terra, cited as showing orchil was already gathered in Madeira in his time.