Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye
A reddish-brown dye made from the tap-root bark of a desert shrub
No single value: Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye is a material, and its colour varies. The background shows its family, brown.
Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye is a reddish-brown colour produced from the deep-red bark of the tap-root of Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus. The Navajo have used this plant to dye woollen yarns, drawing on its presence in the dry, rocky habitats of the Southwestern United States.
- Made from the deep-red bark of the tap-root
- Used by the Navajo to dye woollen yarns
- Native to the Southwestern United States
- Produces a reddish-brown colour
What colour is Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye?
Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye is a reddish-brown colour obtained from the bark of the tap-root of Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus, a shrub found in dry, rocky areas of the Southwestern United States. The dye is known for its earthy, warm tone, which comes from the deep-red bark of the plant. This shrub is recognised by its small, leathery evergreen leaves and thick, grey twigs.
Where does Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye come from?
The dye takes its name from the little-leaf mountain mahogany, a shrub native to the deserts and mountain slopes from California to Colorado. The Navajo people have long used the plant鈥檚 tap-root bark to make a reddish-brown dye for wool. The plant grows in dry habitats among pinyon juniper woodlands and ponderosa pine forests.
How is Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye made?
To make the dye, the deep-red bark is stripped from the tap-root of the little-leaf mountain mahogany. This bark is then processed to extract the reddish-brown colour, which is used to dye woollen yarns. The dye is entirely plant-based, relying on the natural pigments found in the root bark.
Where Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye is used
The Navajo have traditionally used this dye to colour woollen yarns. The reddish-brown shade produced is valued in their textile work. The dye is specific to the regions where the shrub grows, and its use is tied to local craft traditions.
Brown around the world
What the brown family means from country to country.
Brown is the colour of Nazism in German political speech, after the brown shirts of the party's stormtroopers. To call a view "brown" is to call it far right.
Politics and protestDanger and warningShameSource: SturmabteilungMasi is bark cloth beaten from paper mulberry and printed in brown and black. It is worn at weddings and funerals and given in ceremonial exchanges.
Sacred and holyWeddings and marriageSource: Tapa clothKuntunkuni is a dark brown mourning cloth of the Asante, dyed with tree bark. Adinkra cloth, stamped with symbols, was first made on such dark grounds for funerals.
Mourning and deathSadnessSource: Adinkra symbolsThe batik of the Javanese courts at Yogyakarta and Surakarta is dyed in soga brown with indigo and cream. Some court patterns were once reserved for the royal family.
Royalty and powerPrideSource: BatikBogolanfini, or mud cloth, is cotton painted with fermented river mud in browns, black and white. Hunters wear it for protection, and women after childbirth.
Protection and healingSacred and holySource: B貌g貌lanfiniShades and relatives of Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye
This dye is one of several plant-based browns used in Navajo textiles. Its reddish-brown tone may be compared to other natural dyes, but the source plant and the exact shade set it apart. The dye is distinct from other browns made from different roots or barks.
Questions people ask about Little-leaf mountain mahogany dye
What colour is little-leaf mountain mahogany dye?
It is a reddish-brown dye made from the deep-red bark of the tap-root of Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus.
Where does the name come from?
The dye is named after the little-leaf mountain mahogany shrub, which grows in dry, rocky areas of the Southwestern United States.
Who uses this dye?
The Navajo people have traditionally used this dye to colour woollen yarns for textiles.
How is the dye made?
The dye is made by extracting the deep-red bark from the tap-root of the shrub and using it to dye wool.
Good reading and sources
- Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More pictures on Wikimedia CommonsPictures
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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