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Rubia peregrina

Table of Contents

Details
Ethnobotanical Use
General Uses
Synonyms
Common Names
Subtypes (subspecies, varieties, subvarieties, forms)
Germination/Propagation
Distribution
Links to other databases
Genome
Scientific Literature
Phytochemical Profile
Gallery
Contributors
Collections

Details Top

Internal ID UUID643feb4c4a09a814163150
Scientific name Rubia peregrina
Authority L.
First published in Sp. Pl. : 109 (1753)

Ethnobotanical Use Top

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General Uses Top

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Common products:
Extracts of Rubia peregrina roots are processed into natural dye and pigment preparations. The root material is ground, macerated in water or an alcoholic medium, and filtered to obtain a concentrated anthraquinone solution. The resulting liquid or dried powder, containing alizarin, purpurin and other anthraquinones, is marketed as a madder‑based natural colorant.

Industrial and craft applications:
The dye is used in the textile industry to produce red hues on wool, cotton and silk. Both direct dyeing and mordant‑assisted processes are employed, with aluminum or iron salts to form colourfast lakes. Craft dyers employ the preparation for hand‑dyed yarns and fabrics, and heritage textile conservators use it to recreate historic colouration in restoration work. The dried pigment is also incorporated into oil and water‑based artist paints as a natural madder lake.

Colorants and tanning:
The primary colourants are alizarin and purpurin, which generate red‑orange and deep red colours respectively. When combined with metal salts, they form insoluble lake pigments used for printing and dyeing of protein fibers. The extracts are not used for leather tanning.

Properties relevant to use:
The roots contain 0.5–2 % anthraquinones by dry weight. Alizarin and purpurin are water‑soluble at neutral to slightly alkaline pH and chelate Al³⁺ and Fe³⁺ to produce stable colour complexes. The dye solutions have absorption maxima around 420–500 nm, providing a characteristic red hue. The low lignin content of the root facilitates extraction and yields a relatively pure pigment.

Standards and regulation:
Natural dyes derived from Rubia spp. are subject to EU Cosmetic Regulation (EC No 1223/2009); alizarin (CI 75300) is listed as an approved hair‑dye colourant with maximum allowable concentration limits. Textile colourants are governed by REACH and ISO/ASTM standards for colour fastness (e.g., ISO 20795 for washing fastness). No specific food‑additive approval exists for Rubia peregrina extracts in most jurisdictions.

Sustainability and sourcing:
Rubia peregrina is harvested wild in Mediterranean shrublands and woodlands. Sustainable collection guidelines recommend harvesting not more than 30 % of the annual growth, and recent agronomic trials aim to cultivate the species on marginal lands to reduce pressure on wild populations.

Synonyms Top

Scientific name Authority First published in
Rubia anglica Huds. Fl. Angl. : 54 (1762)
Rubia angustifolia L. Mant. Pl. 1: 39 (1767)
Rubia barcinonensis Sennen & Sennen Bol. Soc. Ibér. Ci. Nat. 27: 148 (1928)
Rubia bocconei Petagna Inst. Bot. 2: 255 (1787)
Rubia clementi Sennen Bol. Soc. Ibér. Ci. Nat. 27: 146 (1928)
Rubia dalmatica Scheele Linnaea 17: 342 (1844)
Rubia erratica Bubani Fl. Pyren. 2: 327 (1899)
Rubia fontqueri Sennen & Sennen Bol. Soc. Ibér. Ci. Nat. 27: 147 (1928)
Rubia grandifolia Sennen & Sennen Bol. Soc. Ibér. Ci. Nat. 27: 145 (1928)
Rubia linearifolia Bonnier Fl. Ill. France 5: 32 (1921)
Rubia longifolia Poir. Encycl. , Suppl. 2: 705 (1812)
Rubia lucida L. Syst. Nat. ed. 12 , 2: 732 (1767)
Rubia peregrina subsp. longifolia (Poir.) Valdés Berm. & G.López Anales Inst. Bot. Cavanilles 34(1): 168. 1977
Rubia peregrina var. requienii (Duby) Cardona Lagascalia 4: 218 (1974)
Rubia reiseri Halácsy ex Hayek Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 30(2): 476. 1930 (1930)
Rubia requienii Duby Bot. Gall. , ed. 2, 1: 247 (1830)
Rubia splendens Hoffmanns. & Link Fl. Portug. 2: 67 (1824)
Rubia peregrina var. lucida (L.) Nyman Consp. Fl. Eur. 323 1879
Rubia peregrina var. splendens (Hoffmanns. & Link) Nyman Consp. Fl. Eur. 323. 1879
Rubia peregrina var. dalmatica (Scheele) Nyman Consp. Fl. Eur. 323. 1879
Rubia angustifolia var. requienii (Duby) Nyman Consp. Fl. Eur. 323. 1879
Rubia peregrina var. angustifolia Gren. & Godr. Fl. France 2: 12 1850
Galium peregrinum Franch. Fl. Loir-et-Cher : 260 (1885)
Rubia peregrina var. intermedia Gren. Fl. France 2: 13. 1850
Rubia peregrina var. rotundifolia Maire Mém. Soc. Sci. Nat. Maroc 7: 199. 1924

Common names Top

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Language Common/alternative name
Spanish hierba rasposa
Spanish agarrarropa
Spanish enreosa
Spanish esparrilla
Spanish zarzaparrilla real
Spanish yerba de serpiente
Spanish tinta huevos
Spanish peganovios
Spanish garanza brava
Catalan rogeta
Welsh cochwraidd gwyllt
German kletten-krapp
German levantinische krappwurzel
Esperanto migra rubio
Basque otxar basati
Finnish pensaikkokrappi
French garance voyageuse
Croatian zimzeleni broć
Japanese ルビア・ペレグリーナ
Kabyle tarubia
Macedonian див брос
Slovenian divji brošč
Swedish vildkrapp

Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top

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Name Authority First published in
Rubia peregrina subsp. longifolia (Poir.) O.Bolòs Simpos. Fl. Eur. 5: 84 (1969)
Rubia peregrina subsp. peregrina Unknown
Rubia peregrina subsp. requienii (Duby) Cardona & Sierra Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 37: 572 (1980 publ. 1981)

Varieties (abbr. var.) Top

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Subvarieties (abbr. subvar.) Top

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Forms (abbr. f.) Top

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Germination/Propagation Top

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Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top

Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
  • Europe
    • Northern Europe
      • Great Britain
      • Ireland
    • Southeastern Europe
      • Albania
      • Greece
      • Italy
      • Kriti
      • Sicilia
      • Turkey-in-Europe
      • Yugoslavia
    • Southwestern Europe
      • Baleares
      • Corse
      • France
      • Portugal
      • Sardegna
      • Spain

Links to other databases Top

Suggest others/fix!
Database ID/link to page
World Flora Online wfo-0000298572
Tropicos 27900237
INPN 118916
Flora of Italy 4189
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:765320-1
The Plant List kew-180363
Open Tree Of Life 296273
Observations.org 80651
NCBI Taxonomy 29801
NBN Atlas NBNSYS0000004322
IPNI 765320-1
iNaturalist 82848
GBIF 2892347
Freebase /m/0h670kc
EPPO RBIPE
EOL 1097273
USDA GRIN 32242
Wikipedia Rubia_peregrina

Genomes (via NCBI) Top

Below is displayed the reference genome only!
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
Accession Assembly
Name Level Submitter Released Coverage Size
GCA_032355705.1 ASM3235570v1 Scaffold Iridian Genomes 2023-10-04 80 863.08 Mb

Scientific Literature Top

Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Title Authors Publication Released IDs
Bio-mordants: a review Benli H Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 23-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10948525
doi:10.1007/s11356-024-32174-8
PMID:38396176
Ecological and Syntaxonomic Analysis of the Communities of Glebionis coronaria and G. discolor (Malvion neglectae) in the European Mediterranean Area Cano E, Cano-Ortiz A, Quinto Canas R, Piñar Fuentes JC, Rodrigues Meireles C, Raposo M, Pinto Gomes C, Laface VL, Spampinato G, Musarella CM Plants (Basel) 20-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10934477
doi:10.3390/plants13050568
PMID:38475415
Multi-Analytical Techniques for the Study of Burial Clothes of Polish King Sigismund III Vasa (1566–1633) and His Wife Constance Habsburg (1588–1631) Śliwka-Kaszyńska M, Cybulska M, Drążkowska A, Kuberski S, Karczewski J, Marzec A, Rybiński P Molecules 28-Dec-2023
PMCID:PMC10780732
doi:10.3390/molecules29010192
PMID:38202776
Phenolic Compounds from By-Products for Functional Textiles Afonso TB, Bonifácio-Lopes T, Costa EM, Pintado ME Materials (Basel) 20-Nov-2023
PMCID:PMC10672813
doi:10.3390/ma16227248
PMID:38005176
Plant-based red colouration of shell beads 15,000 years ago in Kebara Cave, Mount Carmel (Israel) Davin L, Bellot-Gurlet L, Navas J PLoS One 25-Oct-2023
PMCID:PMC10599507
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0292264
PMID:37878593
The most polyphagous insect herbivore? Host plant associations of the Meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius (L.) Thompson V, Harkin C, Stewart AJ PLoS One 04-Oct-2023
PMCID:PMC10602594
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0291734
PMID:37792900
Ecological Strategies for Resource Use by Three Bromoviruses in Anthropic and Wild Plant Communities Babalola B, Fraile A, García-Arenal F, McLeish M Viruses 21-Aug-2023
PMCID:PMC10458945
doi:10.3390/v15081779
PMID:37632121
Direct evidence of the use of multiple drugs in Bronze Age Menorca (Western Mediterranean) from human hair analysis Guerra-Doce E, Rihuete-Herrada C, Micó R, Risch R, Lull V, Niemeyer HM Sci Rep 06-Apr-2023
PMCID:PMC10079862
doi:10.1038/s41598-023-31064-2
PMID:37024524
Assessing the Role of Lizards as Potential Pollinators of an Insular Plant Community and Its Intraspecific Variation Romero-Egea V, Robles C, Traveset A, Del Rio L, Hervías-Parejo S Animals (Basel) 22-Mar-2023
PMCID:PMC10044671
doi:10.3390/ani13061122
PMID:36978662
Wild Edible Plants of Andalusia: Traditional Uses and Potential of Eating Wild in a Highly Diverse Region Benítez G, Molero-Mesa J, González-Tejero MR Plants (Basel) 07-Mar-2023
PMCID:PMC10051205
doi:10.3390/plants12061218
PMID:36986907
Aphrophoridae as Potential Vectors of Xylella fastidiosa in Tunisia Boukhris-Bouhachem S, Souissi R, Abou Kubaa R, El Moujabber M, Gnezdilov V Insects 24-Jan-2023
PMCID:PMC9962830
doi:10.3390/insects14020119
PMID:36835688
Pigments and Techniques of Hellenistic Apulian Tomb Painting Mangone A, Colombi C, Eramo G, Muntoni IM, Forleo T, Giannossa LC Molecules 20-Jan-2023
PMCID:PMC9921921
doi:10.3390/molecules28031055
PMID:36770720
Ecological Features and Conservation of Urtica rupestris Guss. (Urticaceae): A Narrow Endemic Species of Sicily Sciandrello S, Cambria S, Giusso del Galdo G, Minissale P, Puglisi M, Tavilla G, Tomaselli V Plants (Basel) 29-Dec-2022
PMCID:PMC9824435
doi:10.3390/plants12010164
PMID:36616293
Anthraquinone Production from Cell and Organ Cultures of Rubia Species: An Overview Murthy HN, Joseph KS, Paek KY, Park SY Metabolites 26-Dec-2022
PMCID:PMC9861034
doi:10.3390/metabo13010039
PMID:36676964
A Quantitative Study on the Ethnobotanical Knowledge about Wild Edible Plants among the Population of Messiwa Ghanimi R, Ouhammou A, Babahmad RA, Cherkaoui M Ethiop J Health Sci 01-Nov-2022
PMCID:PMC9692160
doi:10.4314/ejhs.v32i6.22
PMID:36475263

Phytochemical Profile Top

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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
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Name PubChem ID Canonical SMILES MW Found in Proof
> Benzenoids / Anthracenes / Anthracenecarboxylic acids and derivatives / Anthracenecarboxylic acids
Pseudopurpurin 442765 Click to see C1=CC=C2C(=C1)C(=O)C3=C(C2=O)C(=C(C(=C3O)C(=O)O)O)O 300.22 unknown https://doi.org/10.1039/JR9360001714
> Benzenoids / Anthracenes / Anthraquinones / Hydroxyanthraquinones
Alizarin 6293 Click to see 240.21 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/PCA.2800050509

Gallery Top

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Collections Top

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