Flora of Israel: Narrow-leaved Madder

Rubia, Latin ruber, red; in allusion to the reddish dye obtained from the roots of these herbs.

tenuifolia, tenuis, thin, fine, slim, slender; folia, leaf; slender leaved.
The Hebrew name: פואה, poea (Post Biblical Hebrew), madder; related to Aramaic: פוחא, poeha, Arabic: فوة fuwwah (=madder).

• The standard author abbreviation Dum.-Urville is used to indicate Admiral Jules Sébastien César Dumont d’Urville 1790 – 1842, a French explorer, cartographer, botanist, linguist, writer.

Various species contain pigment, most probably Rubia tinctorum L. was used during dyeing, which include alizarin (madder red), purpurin (madder purple), rubiacin (madder orange) and xanthine (madder yellow). Cloth dyed with madder root pigment was found in the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun and in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Corinth. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, (apart from artillery, rifles and light cavalry), included a madder red coat or coatee. Alizarin was synthesized in 1868 and reduced its importance as a dye plant.