A clump-forming, upright perennial to about 1m tall, the small, narrow oval mid-green leaves with translucent dots that give the appearance of perforations, and broad, pyramid-shaped terminal clusters of star-shaped yellow flowers to 2cm across, in summer.

Dye colour: Soft/red, yellow

Dye source: Flowers, Leaves

Flowering: June - September

Other common names: Perforate St John's Wort, Cammock, Common St John's wort, Devil chaser, God's wonder plant, Herb John, Rosin rose.

How to extract the dyes: 

• Soak the dried flower heads in a pot filled with 4 litres of warm water for 30 minutes. 

• Heat the dye bath to +70 °C, well below the boiling point.  

• Adding one tablespoon of washing soda or 0.5-1 dl of wood ash lye can improve the colour extraction and modify the colour from brown to orange. 

• Steep the flowers for 30 minutes to extract dye.  

For more information about the dyeing process:

Natural dyes for education and colour experimentation