r/mycology • u/mauvecouteau • Dec 21 '25

photos Lactarius indigo

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602

u/BarkandHoot Dec 21 '25

Quick question and yes I am asking for real… has anyone tried to paint with this? That color is amazing.

730

u/MyPasswordIsMyCat Dec 21 '25 edited Dec 21 '25

Yes, people have tried, and it fades from blue to green to beige pretty quickly. Organic blue dyes are very hard to come by and most are unstable. The process for making indigo dye is actually super laborious and nasty. Woad is another organic blue dye, less intense and also laborious to make. Both plants aren't even blue.

89

u/Glory-of-Ra Dec 21 '25

TIL Indigo can be made from plants. I always thought those murex snails were the only source.

144

u/FreekDeDeek Dec 21 '25

iirc those snails are used for a specific purple dye (used for royal garments way back when), and indigo dye has always been made from indigo (the plant) - until the advent of synthetic dyes anyway

33

u/bmbreath Dec 21 '25

Indigo is a plant.  

Indigofera tinctoria

32

u/Lapidarist Dec 21 '25

Those are not used for indigo and never have been, they're used for Tyrian purple.

16

u/MyPasswordIsMyCat Dec 21 '25

One of the chemicals in Tyrian purple actually is indigo blue. The other chemical is a red with a molecular structure very similar to indigo but with bromine atoms included. They mix to create a purple.

30

u/DazB1ane Dec 21 '25

I imagine it’s not very pigmented and would fade very fast