Puccoon
A group of North American plants once used for dye from their roots
No single value: Puccoon is a material, and its colour varies. The background shows its family, red.
Puccoon refers to several plants whose roots were used by some Native Americans to make dyes. The name comes from the Powhatan word for 'red dye', and different species produced colours such as red and yellow. These dyes were valued for colouring and possibly for other uses.
- Puccoon dyes are made from plant roots
- The name comes from a Powhatan word for 'red dye'
- Different species give red or yellow dyes
- Used by Native Americans for dyeing
What colour is Puccoon?
Puccoon is a name for several plants native to North America, known for their use as sources of dye. The roots of these plants yield colours such as red and yellow. Puccoon is not a single colour, but refers to the dyes made from the roots of different species. The term is most closely linked to red dyes, but some types produce yellow as well.
Where does Puccoon come from?
The word 'puccoon' comes from the Powhatan language, where 'poughkone' means 'red dye'. Native Americans used the roots of various puccoon plants to create dyes for different purposes. These plants include species in the Lithospermum genus and others like Sanguinaria canadensis and Hydrastis canadensis. The tradition of using puccoon roots for dye dates back to times before European contact.
How is Puccoon made?
To make puccoon dye, the roots of the plant are dug up and processed. The roots are the part that contains the colouring material. Different species give different colours: for example, Sanguinaria canadensis (red puccoon) gives a red dye, while Hydrastis canadensis (yellow puccoon) gives a yellow dye. The process involves extracting the colour from the root, often by crushing or soaking.
Where Puccoon is used
Puccoon dyes were used by some Native American groups for colouring textiles and possibly for body decoration. The red and yellow dyes made from these plant roots were valued for their strong colours. The plants themselves are still known by these names, though the use of their dyes is now rare.
Red around the world
What the red family means from country to country.
Red and white are the national colours. The flag, a red maple leaf between two red bars, was adopted in 1965 after a long debate in parliament.
Politics and protestPrideSource: National colours of CanadaOfficers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police wear the Red Serge, a scarlet tunic with a high collar, on ceremonial duty. It is one of the best known images of the country abroad.
Protection and healingTrustSource: Red SergeEmpty red dresses hung in public places stand for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The idea comes from the REDress Project by the Metis artist Jaime Black.
Mourning and deathProtection and healingGriefSource: REDress ProjectThe flag uses the four Pan-Arab colours: a red bar at the hoist with green, white and black bands. It was designed by a young Emirati, Abdullah Al Maainah, in 1971.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of the United Arab EmiratesThe flag is a black double-headed eagle on red, the banner of the fifteenth-century hero Skanderbeg. Fans chant Kuq e Zi, red and black.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of AlbaniaArmenian scribes painted manuscripts with vordan karmir, a crimson dye made from an insect that lives on the roots of grasses in the Ararat plain.
Sacred and holySource: Armenian cochinealShades and relatives of Puccoon
There are several types of puccoon, each from a different plant and producing slightly different colours. Some common types include hoary puccoon, golden puccoon, and red puccoon root. The main distinction is the colour of dye each plant produces, ranging from red to yellow.
Questions people ask about Puccoon
What colour is puccoon dye?
Puccoon dye can be red or yellow, depending on the plant species used. Red puccoon comes from Sanguinaria canadensis, while yellow puccoon comes from Hydrastis canadensis.
Where does the name 'puccoon' come from?
The name 'puccoon' is from the Powhatan word 'poughkone', which means 'red dye'.
What plants are used to make puccoon dye?
Several plants are called puccoon, including species of Lithospermum, Sanguinaria canadensis, and Hydrastis canadensis.
How was puccoon dye made?
The dye was made by extracting colour from the roots of puccoon plants, often by crushing or soaking them.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Puccoon", 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.
More of the red family
All of red
Red
Cinnabar
A scarlet to brick-red mineral and the main source of mercury and vermilion pigmentColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚫 Spain +5
Red
Realgar
An orange-red arsenic sulfide mineral once used as a pigment and poisonPigment 路 馃嚚馃嚦 China +5
Red
Carmine
A deep red pigment made from cochineal insects, once prized across continentsPigment 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +2
#E25822
Scarlet
A bright red with a touch of orange, long tied to power, sacrifice and sinNamed shade 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey +4
#E34234
Vermilion
A brilliant orange-red pigment, once made from toxic mercury orePigment 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey +5
Red
Rubia
A group of plants whose roots once dyed cloth and paint a lasting redColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5
#DC143C
Crimson
A deep red with a hint of purple, once made from insectsNamed shade 路 馃嚦馃嚨 Nepal
#E32636
Alizarin
A deep red dye first made from madder roots, later produced from coal tarDye 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey +1
More colours tied to Canada
The colours of Canada
#FFFF00
Yellow
A primary colour between green and orange, seen in sunlight, leaves, and pigmentsBasic colour 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +5
#4A412A
Pantone 448 C
A dull brown shade chosen to discourage smoking by making packaging unattractiveStandard colour 路 馃嚘馃嚭 Australia +5
#FFD800
School bus yellow
A yellow made for North American school buses to stand out and be seenNamed shade 路 馃嚭馃嚫 United States +2
#FF7800
Safety orange
A vivid orange used for high-visibility and safety markingNamed shade 路 馃嚭馃嚫 United States +4