| Haemodorum coccineum | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Commelinales |
| Family: | Haemodoraceae |
| Genus: | Haemodorum |
| Species: | H. coccineum |
| Binomial name | |
| Haemodorum coccineum | |
 | |
| H. coccineum collection data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium | |
Haemodorum coccineum (bunyagutjagutja, [1] bloodroot, [2] menang, [3] scarlet bloodroot, [4] red root [5] ) is a flowering plant in the same family as kangaroo paw.
A perennial herb [6] to one meter high. [5] [6] Although it is not grass, it has a grass-like appearance, with strap-like, [2] [5] narrow, leathery leaves arising from the base of the plant. [2] [6]
Flowering usually occurs between November and March, during the Top End wet season, however flowers have been observed as early as October and as late as May. [6] The flowers are deep-red or orange red and occur in dense clusters on long stiff stalks, [2] [6] which also arise from the base of the plant. [6]
Fruit develop between November and March, and can linger until May. [6] The fruit are red [5] [6] to black, [2] fleshy capsules with three lobes. [6] The mature fruit release a red-purple juice when crushed. [6]
Found in the Top End of the Northern Territory, [2] [6] [7] Northern Queensland [2] [6] [7] and Papua New Guinea. [7] Occurs in open woodland habitats on gravelly or shallow lateritic soils and sandstone. [6]
Indigenous Australians use this plant to make red, brown and purple dyes for coloring plant fibres. [1] [2] [6] [8]
The bulbous red root is chopped or crushed and boiled in water to release the red-brown dyes, while the purple shades are made from H. coccineum fruit. [8]
Fibres such as the stripped leaves of Pandanus spiralis or the new leaves of Livistona humilis are added to the dye-bath, and later the colored fibre is used to make items such as baskets (Pandanus), string bags (Livistona) and fibre sculptures. [8]
Suitable as a bedding or edging plant in native gardens. [5]
The fruits can be used in floral arrangements. [2]
Some sources report Indigenous Australians used the plant to treat snake-bite, and the dry stalks were used as fire-sticks. [6]
Haemodorum coccineum can be propagated from seed. [2] Vegetative propagation can be achieved by dividing the bulbous root.
Plants prefer a well-drained sandy or gravelly soil and full sun. [2] In the dry season the plant will usually die back, [2] leaving the underground rootstock to regenerate later in the year.
Morinda citrifolia is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. Its native range extends across Southeast Asia and Australasia, and was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. The species is now cultivated throughout the tropics and widely naturalized. Among some 100 names for the fruit across different regions are the more common English names of great morinda, Indian mulberry, noni, beach mulberry, vomit fruit and cheese fruit.
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names include pandan, screw palm, and screw pine. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.
Sanguinaria canadensis, bloodroot, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America. It is the only species in the genus Sanguinaria, included in the poppy family Papaveraceae, and is most closely related to Eomecon of eastern Asia.
Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English include thatch screwpine, Tahitian screwpine, hala tree and pandanus. The edible fruit is sometimes known as hala fruit.
The superb fruit dove, also known as the purple-crowned fruit dove, is a medium-sized, colourful fruit-dove in the family Columbidae.
Embothrium coccineum, Chilean firetree or Chilean firebush, commonly known in Chile and Argentina as notro, ciruelillo and fósforo is a small evergreen tree in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. It grows in the temperate forests of Chile and Argentina.
Bombax ceiba, like other trees of the genus Bombax, is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of which may also refer to Ceiba pentandra.
Livistona australis, the cabbage-tree palm, is an Australian plant species in the family Arecaceae. It is a tall, slender palm growing up to about 25 m in height and 0.35 m diameter. It is crowned with dark, glossy green leaves on petioles 2 m long. It has leaves plaited like a fan; the cabbage of these is small but sweet. In summer it bears flower spikes with sprigs of cream-white flowers. The trees accumulate dead fronds or leaves, which when the plant is in cultivation are often removed by an arborist.
Pandanus spiralis is native to northern Australia. It is commonly called common screwpine, iidool, pandanus palm, screw pine, screw palm or spring pandanus. It is neither a true palm, nor a pine.
Asparagus aethiopicus, Sprenger's asparagus, is a plant native to the Cape Provinces and the Northern Provinces of South Africa. Often used as an ornamental plant, it is considered an invasive weed in many locations. Asparagus fern, asparagus grass and foxtail fern are common names; however, it is unrelated to true ferns. A. aethiopicus has been confused with A. densiflorus, now regarded as a separate species, so that information about A. aethiopicus will often be found under the name A. densiflorus.
This is a list of plants commonly found in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory of Australia. Where known, common names are given in English and in Gun-djeihmi, a commonly spoken indigenous language in the area, are given in parentheses.
Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources—roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood—and other biological sources such as fungi.
Dyeing is the craft of imparting colors to textiles in loose fiber, yarn, cloth or garment form by treatment with a dye. Archaeologists have found evidence of textile dyeing with natural dyes dating back to the Neolithic period. In China, dyeing with plants, barks and insects has been traced back more than 5,000 years. Natural insect dyes such as Tyrian purple and kermes and plant-based dyes such as woad, indigo and madder were important elements of the economies of Asia and Europe until the discovery of man-made synthetic dyes in the mid-19th century. Synthetic dyes quickly superseded natural dyes for the large-scale commercial textile production enabled by the industrial revolution, but natural dyes remained in use by traditional cultures around the world.
Schleichera is a monotypic genus of plants in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. There is only one species, Schleichera oleosa, a tree that occurs in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Livistona humilis, the sand palm, is an Australian plant species of the family Arecaceae. It is a small, slender palm, growing to about 7 m tall and 5–8 cm dbh. It has 8 to 15 fan-shaped leaves, 30–50 cm long with petioles 40–70 cm long. It is endemic to the Top End of the Northern Territory in Australia. Genetic investigation suggests that its closest relation is Livistona inermis. This palm is fire tolerant and usually grows in environments where it is exposed to frequent fires.
Haemodorum brevicaule is a perennial herb from 0.025 to 0.3 m tall, in the bloodroot family, the Haemodoraceae, native to northern Australia. It has deep-red to purplish-black flowers which are seen from September to December, and it grows on red clay and basalt.
The Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), and was formed by the amalgamation of Australia's Virtual Herbarium and NZ Virtual Herbarium. As of 12 August 2014, more than five million specimens of the 8 million and upwards specimens available from participating institutions have been databased.
Lucy Malirrimurruwuy Armstrong Wanapuyngu is an Aboriginal Australian master fibre artist. She is an elder of the Gapuwiyak community, and is heavily involved in the transmission of knowledge dealing with fibre works. She has worked with anthropologist Louise Hamby, since 1995, and many of her works have been spotlighted at different art festivals, collections, galleries, and museums.
Anniebell Marrngamarrnga is an Aboriginal Australian artist from Maningrida in the Northern Territory of Australia. She is well known for her large-scale, intricate fibre sculptures.
Mary Dhalapany, skin name Bilinydjan, also known as Mary Dhalapany Mangul, is an Indigenous Australian contemporary artist based in Ramingining, Australia in Arnhem Land. She is of the Yolŋu people from the Mandhalpuy clan, of the Dhuwa moiety. She is a renowned Aboriginal Australian fibre-artist.