Download Dye Plant of the Month, November, 2014–Cota

Dye Plant of the Month: Cota, Navajo tea, Hopi tea, greenthread
(Thelesperma filifolium)
Plant Family: Asteraceae (Composite Family)
Description: Annual, winter annual or short-lived perennial,
slender plants up to 16” or taller; leaves with with narrow,
threadlike lobes; heads with yellow ray flowers and yellow or
reddish-brown disk flowers all summer and into the fall.
We are also growing a second species of cota in the dye
garden: Thelesperma megapotamicum, also called greenthread,
Hopi tea, or Navajo tea. It is a perennial, and the yellow or
reddish-brown flower heads lack ray flowers.
Origin and Current Range: Thelesperma filifolium is native to
Colorado, north to Wyoming and South Dakota, east to Missouri,
Arkansas and Louisiana, and south to New Mexico, Texas and
Mexico. T. megapotamicum is native to a larger part of the
central and western U.S.
Habitat: Full sun; dry, clay or rocky soils, often on limestone.
Reproduction and Cultivation: Both species reproduce from seeds. Prefers full sun. Avoid
over-watering.
Dye Color and Parts Used for Dye: Yellow to orange dyes produced on wools mordanted
with alum, from flowers , stems and leaves. Here is an example of colors we achieved this
fall using only the flowers. We were able to get very nice results using as many as three
extractions from the dried flowers.
Results from First Extraction:
Other Information: Flowers, stems and leaves of several species of Thelesperma were
used by Native Americans of the Southwest, including the Navajo and Hopi, to make teas.
Thelesperma megapotamicum is now grown commercially on the Colorado Plateau in
New Mexico.
References:
1. Bryan, Nonabah G., Stella Young and Charles Keetsie Shirley. 1940. Navajo Native
Dyes. U.S. Dept. of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Education.
2. Burgess, Rebecca. 2011. Harvesting Color: How to Find Plants and Make Natural Dyes.
Artisan Press. N.Y.
3. Cutropia, Rose Marie. Plant Dyes in the Native American Southwest: Hopi Pueblo and
Navajo Nation.
http://www.academia.edu/7165670/Plant_Dyes_in_the_Native_American_Southwest
_Hopi_Pueblo_and_Navajo_Nation
4. Dharmananda, Subhuti. Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, OR.
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/greenthread.htm