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The name alkanet generally refers to Alkanna tinctoria or Dyer's bugloss (though it may be used for Anchusa officinalis or common bugloss).
It is a member of the Borage family Boraginaceae.
Alkanet tinctoria is also known as orchanet, dyer's bugloss, Spanish bugloss or bugloss of Languedoc. Its name is from Spanish alcana, from Arabic al-hena, after henna, (Lawsonia inermis).
Alkanet is grown in the south of France and on the shores of the Levant. Its root yields a fine red colouring matter which has been used as a cloth dye and to tint tinctures, oils, wines, varnishes, etc. It is commonly used today as a food colouring.
It was listed in the 1918 U.S. Dispensatory. [1] (http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/eclectic/usdisp/alkanna.html)
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
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