Chrozophora tinctoria (L.) A.Juss.

Annual herb to 60 cm high, indumentum of stellate trichomes. Stipules filiform, 1–2 mm long. Leaves: petiole 10–70 mm long; lamina ovate to rhombic-ovate, 20–50 mm long, 10–32 mm wide; base cuneate, with two raised glands visible below; margins entire to toothed; apex obtuse. Male flowers up to 20; perianth parts c. 4 mm long. Female flowers 1–4; calyx persistent in fruit. Fruit subglobose, 6–8 mm diam., tuberculate, with dense peltate scales; seeds 4–4.5 mm long, c. 3.5 mm wide.

Dry places near the coast. Seasonally inundated habitats such as rivers and run-off channels.

The fruits were used to produce a dye used by medieval manuscript illuminators and also as a food-colouring (called “folium” but actually produced from the fruit, not the leaves).