ground logwood

The logwood tree, also called bloodwood or campeche tree, provides logwood, the most important of all colored woods.

Originally native to Central America and the northern parts of South America, the wood was very popular in the textile industry because of its particularly intense coloring. Thus in the 19th In the 19th century large logwood plantations were established on the Caribbean islands of Jamaica and Haiti, later this tree was even cultivated in the Dutch colonies of East India.
Logwood was mainly used in dye works and ink production, but also as timber in fine carpentry.
With the introduction of artificially produced aniline dyes, however, this natural product was gradually pushed out of the world market.

Logwood powder is reddish in color and gives off a slight scent of violets. It is still extremely popular due to its wide range of applications and its ease of use. It enables an uncomplicated and intensive dyeing of natural and synthetic materials such as wool, silk, linen or leather. Although harmless, logwood is not approved as a food coloring in Germany.


Application

Dyeing with logwood flour is very easy.

The logwood powder is boiled in water and then filtered through a linen cloth. The solution thus obtained is purple at first. Pre-stained textiles can now be dyed directly in hot water. The workpiece is then hung up to dry. Only when exposed to air does the actual blue-violet dye, hematein, form on the textile.

In order to get a more intense blue, the logwood powder is fermented by moistening and storing it in air for 6-8 weeks. As a result, the hematoxylin contained in the wood oxidizes to the dye hematein before it is actually colored.

However, hematein is not lightfast. Textiles dyed with logwood should therefore not be exposed to direct sunlight or UV light. If necessary, the textiles can be re-dyed in order to regain the original luminosity.