Alkanet is grown in the south of France and on the shores of the Levant. Its root yields a fine red colouring matter which has been used as a cloth dye and to tint tinctures[?], oils, wines, varnishes, etc. It is commonly used today as a food colouring.
modified from the 1911 encyclopedia with additions
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump