Plants and Other Materials Used for Dyeing in the Present Territory of Poland, Belarus and Ukraine according to Rostafiński’s Questionnaire from 1883

Background: Traditional dyeing methods are practically forgotten in Poland. Józef Rostafiński included questions on the use of dyes in his ethnobotanical survey from 1883. Methods: 126 questionnaires contained information on dye plants. They were identified by the respondents using folk names or sometimes even Latin names. Folk names were analyzed by comparison with other literature. Several voucher specimens were also present. Results: 74 plant taxa were identified to genus or species level. The most commonly used were: onion (Allium cepa), brazilwood (Caesalpinia brasiliensis or Paubrasilia echinata), winter corn (mainly rye Secale cereale), black alder (Alnus glutinosa), safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), apple (Malus domestica), birch (Betula pendula), oak (Quercus robur), and violet flowering spring flowers (mainly Hepatica nobilis and Pulsatilla spp.). Conclusions: Most species are well known in the literature about plant dyeing, but the paper provides extra details on the picture of dyeing traditions in Eastern Europe.

Before the popularization of synthetic dyes in the 19th and 20th centuries, the art of dyeing was an important craft [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Apart from dyes of plant origin, a local species of insect, Porphyrophora polonica (Linnaeus, 1758), sometimes called the Polish cochineal, was used to make red paint. The larvae of this scale insect live on the roots of various herbs, especially those of the perennial knawel Scleranthus perennis L., which is common on the sandy soils of Central Europe. Before aniline, alizarin, and other synthetic dyes were invented, the insect had been of great economic importance. It was exported to other parts of Europe, but its gathering and red dye production collapsed after the discovery of America and the introduction of cochineal red from another insect species [1,4,15,23]. A few interesting publications on dyeing plants and techniques were published in 18th-century Poland and later in the former Polish territories occupied by Russia during the partitions , which are now part of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. For example, Krzysztof Kluk (1739Kluk ( -1796, an eminent Polish naturalist, encouraged the cultivation and use of dye plants in his textbook [29]. In addition to basic and generally known plants, such as reseda (Reseda lutea), woad (Isatis tinctoria), and madder (Rubia tinctoria), he paid attention to a number of field and forest plants with dyeing properties. He enumerated the local raw materials used other specialist literature. However, we hope to find at least some novel species that could be utilized.  Researching plant dyes is important not only from the point of view of recording traditional knowledge. The information is also of value to modern enthusiasts of plan dyes. In the last two decades, there has been an immensely increasing trend in using nat ural products such as wild vegetables [42,43], medicinal herbs and teas [44], and plan dyes. Several handbooks on traditional dyeing have been published recently [45][46][47][48].

Results
The largest number of answers was given to question no. 60 (about Easter egg dyes) with 125 answers altogether and 425 use reports. A much smaller number of answers (62 The aim of the present study was to analyze Rostafiński's questionnaire. We hypothesized that most of the traditional dyes recorded in the study are already known from other specialist literature. However, we hope to find at least some novel species that could be utilized.
Researching plant dyes is important not only from the point of view of recording traditional knowledge. The information is also of value to modern enthusiasts of plant dyes.
In the last two decades, there has been an immensely increasing trend in using natural products such as wild vegetables [42,43], medicinal herbs and teas [44], and plant dyes. Several handbooks on traditional dyeing have been published recently [45][46][47][48].

Results
The largest number of answers was given to question no. 60 (about Easter egg dyes), with 125 answers altogether and 425 use reports. A much smaller number of answers (62) was given to question no. 59 (dyes for textiles or leather), i.e., 176 use reports. Question no. 61 turned out to be a failure. Only six answers containing 14 use reports were given, mainly concerning other dyes, and not a single description of the contemporary use of czerwiec (Polish cochineal) was sent to Rostafiński. Thirteen use reports come from answers to other questions.
As many as 74 taxa of identified plants were recorded to species or genus level, and 13 taxa remained unidentified (Table 1), not counting a few materials of animal or human origin (e.g., dog feces and human urine). A few group categories were also distinguished (lichens, grasses, cereals, hay).
Hues of yellow, green, and red were the most common colors obtained from plants ( Figure 2). Onion (Allium cepa) was the most widely used dye to obtain yellow and brownish colors, mainly on Easter eggs.
The second most commonly mentioned dye was Brazil wood, used mainly for dyeing textiles shades of red. We could not identify the exact species as the same names are used to refer to two related taxa, Caesalpinia brasiliensis and Paubrasilia echinata, in Europe (for more discussion, see footnote 4 in Table 1).
Green blades of cereals were the third in the frequency of use as dyeing materials. Mainly winter corn was used, especially rye (Secale cereale), which is usually sown in autumn and easily obtainable during Easter for dyeing eggs green. Oats (Avena sativa) and wheat (Triticum spp.) were also used for this purpose.
Another commonly mentioned plant was black alder (Alnus glutinosa), a native common tree in the area. This is a very interesting plant dye as different parts of the plant (bark, fruits, leaves, roots) used with different mordants can give various shades of brown, black, and yellow. Widely used for textiles, wool, and yarn, it was also applied to Easter eggs. However, another common native tree used for dyeing was birch (mainly the most abundant Betula pendula), whose leaves were applied to give yellow color to textiles, wool, and probably Easter eggs as well. The third common native tree used in dyeing was oak (mainly the most abundant Quercus robur), whose bark was applied to give dark (black, brown) hues to wool and flax.
Apple (Malus domestica) is the commonest fruit tree in central-eastern Europe, and, as such, its leaves and bark were easily available materials, mainly for dyeing wool and probably also Easter eggs yellow.
Another commonly used material was safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), an annual plant that was specially cultivated for dyeing purposes (for wool and Easter eggs) due to the attractive shades of yellow and pink achieved. throughout PL and BE Mainly used to dye wool and eggs [37]. The longer the dyeing time, the redder the wool or eggshells. With a small amount of raw material and a short immersion time, the eggs or yarn turn yellow (the color of turmeric). With alum, the stained wool achieves more luminous colors-from golden yellow to brown saturated red [32]. Allium cf schoenoprasum L. throughout (PL); SW UA Safflower is still used in many countries [46] but is a difficult raw material, so in folk culture, it probably served only as a yellow dye for wool or eggs. According to Kluk [29], safflower was used to create varnishes and thick paints. Abroad, it was most often used to dye silk pink. By working with it for a long time and in stages, a bright pink or red color can be achieved from the flower stamens [46].  [37,46], and fruits, especially unripe ones. They give shades of green on copper mordant [32].  Used to dye wool [32]. In Iron Age Finland, it was boiled for several days to produce an alum mordant [52]. Zielenica was reported as used for eggs in Gnieczyna near Przeworsk and Zalesie near Siemiatycze [37]. Described as "grass in conifer woods with branches similar to cypress, bright-green." Also mentioned in Gospodyni Litewska [31].

Malus domestica
bd-buds, bk-bark; br-branches; c-cones; fl-flowers, fr -fruits; l-leaves, r-roots; sh-young shoots; n. sp.-not specified; wd-wood; wh-whole plant with roots. More details: 1 -After soaking textiles overnight, they become brown. They turn black if left in an iron-rich meadow soil. 2 -One of the respondents said: "The old woman says that her parents dyed their wool and yarn black with buckthorn, but this is probably a mistake, for unripe buckthorn berries give a permanent yellow, ripe dark green". 3 -"in blue-they painted with commercial blue paint, but because this paint faded from the sun and was washed out by the rain, the housewives came up with an experiment to fix the color by soaking the yarn after dyeing in urine. For this purpose, a large bowl with two handles was ordered by the stove fitter, carefully stored from year to year in every peasant house for known use. All the elders participated in this activity, because a lot of fresh liquid was needed, and children were excluded, because if one of them said 'it stinks' the color would wear off. In general, dyeing activities were kept secret and not revealed to profane eyes". 4 -Podbielkowski [57] lists many synonyms for the species, e.g.,: "drzewo brazylijskie", "drzewo fernambukowe", "drzewo pernambukowe" (for C. bras and C. echinata). A related species, called sappanwood or eastern brazilwood (Biancaea sappan (L.) Tod.), is also used as a textile colorant to this day. Wood, bark, and roots are used, usually heartwood. The dye gives shades of red (orange, pink), depending on the mordants used and the pH of the dye bath (according to A.B.'s experience and [58]). In the 19th century, the names "drzewo fernambukowe" and "brazylka" were used [54]. We also suspect that in some sources from the 19th century, "brazylia" was used for Haematoxylum campechianum L., which gives blue and purple colors, e.g., according to [54] "Dyeing Easter eggs ( . . . ) red: decoction of 'fernambuk' with alum. For blue: decoction of 'brazylia'".

Comparison with Other Studies
As shown in Table 1, most of the listed taxa are widely known in the dyeing industry or have been recorded by other studies. Nevertheless, this study is a valuable and large-scale documentation of dyeing practices in the Eastern European countryside. The prominence of a few well-known materials is visible. The studies of the Polish Ethnographic Atlas list only 19 species of dye plants, compared to 74 (plus unidentified taxa) in Rostafiński's questionnaire from over a century before. This well illustrates the decrease in dyeing traditions between the 19th and 20th centuries.
There are very few records of the cultivation of Rubia in Poland, which is consistent with the observations of other authors that this plant was used in the dyeing industry but was not part of the Polish dyeing tradition [15,22].
The low presence of blue dyes ( Figure 2) is no surprise. This was a sought-after color, but very few plants can provide it, in contrast to yellow, brown, or even red, often present in nature [21].
Rostafiński's study confirmed that the tradition of using Polish cochineal red dye was dead by the end of the 19th c. No further ethnographic studies in Eastern Europe ever reported the use of this species as a dye.
No mushrooms were used as dyes in the 19th century, though the use of lichens was reported in some parts of Poland (Table 1). Unfortunately, there are no details or specimens that would enable their identification. Lichens have been used as a dye in some parts of the world, e.g., in the UK [51], and the information about their use in Poland is the only such record from Polish ethnographic literature. This can be counted as an achievement of Rostafiński's study.

Identification Problems
Historical data usually do not have voucher specimens attached [59]. That is why some species were not identified either at the genus or species level. We faced this problem for most questionnaires, apart from Federowski's [60], which included a detailed herbarium that also enabled the identification of taxa in other questionnaires.
One of the problems was distinguishing Carthamus tinctorius and Crocus sativus. The former served as a cheap alternative to the latter. Another problem was distinguishing Origanum vulgare and Thymus spp. Both species can be called by folk names starting from macier-, mater-, meaning mother. Usually, when the red dye is concerned, we are dealing with Origanum vulgare [22], but possible identification problems may occur. We also had a problem distinguishing Origanum vulgare and Chenopodium, which tend to have similar names (lebiodka, lebioda). We were also unsure which species of Caesalpinieae was used for red paint (see Table 1). Another issue is distinguishing Hepatica nobilis and Pulsatilla spp. Both of these taxa were probably used.

Weeds and Woody Species as Dyeing Plants
It must be noted that many dye plants were "weeds" in pastures, e.g., Origanum vulgare, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, or woodland plants of little fodder value, e.g., Lycopodium spp., Hepatica nobilis, Rhamnus cathartica, Berberis vulgaris, Prunus spinosa. Others were cereal weeds (Centaurea cyanus, Papaver rhoeas). Thus, the harvesting of the abovementioned species came with an extra benefit for farming by removing weedy or inedible species.
Tree leaves, bark, and roots are another important category of dyeing plants. Out of the 10 most commonly used dyeing ingredients, three taxa were native common tree species: alder, birch, and oak; apple was the most common fruit tree. Given their abundance, they could easily be utilized as a dye. Trees in gardens and small woods often have their lower branches chopped off to increase the growth of the main stem, so the parts used for making dyes could have been just farming by-products.

Easter Eggs
This study is an important contribution to the issue of dyeing Easter eggs. Dyeing Easter eggs has been a custom widespread in Eurasia since the early ages of Christianity. Depending on the local tradition, the eggs could be later eaten, or only empty shells were used for dyeing. Examples of ritual egg dyeing are also known from pre-Christian times [61,62]. The decorations of Easter eggs were a subject of ethnographic research in Poland, but mainly in the context of their patterns and customs associated with them, not the species of plants used for dyeing [62,63], apart from the study of the Polish Ethnographic Atlas [37]. Recording the use of 53 taxa for dyeing Easter eggs may help in preserving this tradition. This number is quite impressive, considering that, for example, Guarrera recorded only three species used from a few regions of Italy [64], and only 13 taxa were recorded by the studies of the Polish Ethnographic Atlas for dyeing eggs in Poland [37].

Materials and Methods
We extracted the information concerning the researched questions from a database of letters written to Rostafiński in response to his questionnaire, which was created by the first author (P.K.). Additionally, we included two published works of imminent Polish ethnographers, Michał Federowski (1853-1923) [60] and Zygmunt Gloger (1845-1910) [65], which were structured using Rostafiński's questionnaire and can be treated as the conceptual part of this project, i.e., responses to the questionnaire which were never sent to Rostafiński. Altogether, our database included 640 records from 126 respondents who provided meaningful information on plant dyes.
Plants were identified using standard methods applied in historical ethnobotany (compare the studies listed by da Silva et al. [66] and summarized by Lardos [67]), i.e., comparing available voucher specimens, folk names recorded in other sources, uses reported in previous publications and geographical distribution and abundance of the taxa used. The credibility of such historical identifications was also extensively discussed by Łuczaj [59]. A similar methodology has been used in other historical ethnobotany publications in the same special issue, Historical Ethnobotany: Interpreting the Old Records (e.g., [68][69][70]. Identification was facilitated by the voucher specimen collection supplied by Federowski. Twenty-six informants supplied 53 scientific names of plants, which seemed trustworthy in most cases (see the discussion on Hepatica nobilis and Pulsatilla in the Discussion). Common plants were also identified by comparing the folk names supplied with other sources on folk botany, e.g., Fischer's dictionary [38].
When the provided local names of plants have been exclusively and commonly used for a certain genus or species throughout the study area, the scientific name of the genus or species was assigned to the local name. For example, "cebula" is the main name for Allium cepa L. used exclusively for this species. "Olcha" is used for the genus Alnus, "dąb" for oak (Quercus sp.), and no other plants have ever been called these names. Additionally, distribution maps of the taxa were checked to ensure they occurred in the studied localities, though most of the taxa used are very common species with large ranges. In the case of 13 plant names, trustworthy identification was impossible (Table 1).

Conclusions
Remnants of traditional plant dyeing knowledge were saved by Rostafiński in his 1883 study. His work revealed that the tradition of plant dyeing in Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine was already disappearing in the 19th century. The plants and other ingredients used to make dyes reported in this study are usually widely known species and ingredients used for dyeing. However, the data provided may be helpful in restoring traditional textile production and preserving the tradition of dying Easter eggs in Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, Ł.Ł. and P.K.; methodology, Ł.Ł.; writing-original draft preparation, Ł.Ł.; writing-review and editing, Ł.Ł., P.K. and A.B.; historical analysis, P.K.; discussion concerning comparison with literature, A.B., references, Ł.Ł. and A.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.

Data Availability Statement:
The original data matrix is enclosed as Supplementary Material with the paper.